


Basic Human Needs

by SuccinctDisquisition



Category: Lego Ninjago, Masters of Spinjutsu, Ninjago - Fandom
Genre: Cole fails some... A lot., F/M, Funny and smart Jay, Humor, Lloyd is technically a kid under that gorgeous body, M/M, Multi, Ninjago, Peeping Tom, Romance, Teenage lust, Wu knows all, android learning about sex, clueless Zane, frienship, grounded Kai, mischievous Lloyd, voyuerism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-12
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-03-07 06:13:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3164279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuccinctDisquisition/pseuds/SuccinctDisquisition
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Curiosity gets the best of even the most steadfast ninja as someone spies on the most intimate interactions found on the Bounty. With couples' private lives on display for this mystery peeping Tom, no one is safe from their scrutiny. Not even a sick Cole is safe from the perversion. Yaoi, non detailed hetero and what ever ends up going on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was only natural to start with them. They were the two most blatant with their affections. It was, after all, the most easily accepted arrangement of the lot. Tonight, like many before, was a display on just how new the pair was. Though said with hushed voices, if one listened closely, they could hear the bitter tones of frustration directed from one to the other and back again.

"I said no! I'm not that kind of girl."

"I know. I know. I'm sorry. I won't do it again."

The couple's lips met again and the boy's hands moved to cup his love's face in an attempt to keep his word. It did not exactly seem fair that her own hands grazed across his chest to roam his muscles but his own were banished from the feminine mounds on her body. None said a word on the matter though and the two's kiss continued to escalate, eliciting quiet moans and small gasps from either set of lips until strong hands dipped down again seemingly of their own accord.

Nya pushed her boyfriend away with a groan. "I said stop it Jay. I swear, sometimes I think all you like about me is my body." She stood, crossing her arms to cover her breasts protectively.

Jay hopped up too, beseeching the girl. "That's not true. I love you. I just can't help myself sometimes. You're just so hot."

"So that's it isn't it?" The girl snapped. "I'm hot. That's all there is to this. I can't believe you. You just wanted someone to fool around with and I just so happened to be the only girl around. Goodnight Jay."

The blue ninja cut into her path to block the only exit. "Nya please!" He begged. "I love you I swear it. I won't do it again, I promise. Just please, don't go."

The samurai's dark eyes broke away from her boyfriend's clearly exasperated with the love she'd assumed was a ruse. "Come on Jay. I'm sure you can find some other pair of tits to squeeze just leave mine and me alone. I don't want a guy who just wants me for my body. I want some one who actually... Actually cares for me." The last bit came out a bit broken but still she refused to look at the man she'd given so much to.

Jay was drawn forward by Nya's words and her teary tone. He grasped her face carefully and angled her face to gaze upward into his. For a moment he didn't speak, just searching for something in the girl's eyes that no one was sure even he knew was there.

When he spoke, it was a barely audible whisper but the words were heard. "I'm sorry Nya. I really am. I love you. I love you as Kai's sister and as Samurai X and as my girlfriend but I love you more as my friend. I'll be heartbroken if you break up with me but I don't know what I'll do if you're this mad at me. I couldn't bear not watching those corny shows with you or missing out on Kai bashing. I just don't know what I'd do-" A soft pair of lips cut off Jay's rant and Nya's arms wrapped around the boy's neck for better access. When she finally released him, there was a light blush spread across her cheeks and she still seemed unable to look directly at her love. Jay just sighed as he ran his fingers through the girl's cropped hair. "If you still want to kiss, you can always tie up my hands." He suggested making the girl smirk.

Finally, her dark eyes met his lighter ones though hers slipped shut contently as she reached up to graze her lips against his once more. They parted just breaths apart and she mumbled an embarrassed reply with her eyes still closed. "I don't think that's necessary. I trust you just don't go for my panties and if my body's not... Just don't... Please don't..." She looked down again, ashamed.

Jay sniffed and shook his head before ducking down into her line of sight. "You're beautiful Nya, every bit of you. If it makes you feel better, let's call it a night. For us, there'll always be a tommorow. Okay?" He straightened and her gaze followed his face eagerly as she nodded with a smile on her face again already.

They kissed once more before both slipping through the door to the recreation area on their way back to their rooms. Nya paused in her trek bringing Jay up short. "What's wrong Nya?" He inquired.

The dark haired girl pointed to the wall at about stomach level and they both stared at a tiny beam of light through a small crack in the wall barely big enough to peek through. "Looks like we forgot to turn off the light again." She pointed out.

"I'll get it." Jay offered, returning to the other room to flip the switch before returning quietly in the shadows. "Nya?" He questioned in a whisper.

Her shadowed form straightened in the darkness. "I was just thinking- Someone could have been spying on us this whole time. They weren't, of course, the floor and walls are cool but it's a thought."

"Gotta be more careful." He resolved and the two parted ways to each return to their sleeping quarters.

~

The second pair was a little less orthodox. Much of what they had stemmed from desire, curiosity, and a lust for what was thoguht of as taboo. They were a spectacle. Two bodies clashing mostly for the sexual satisfaction they could spark within themselves and eachother. No words of love were ever really professed between this couple though some tender kisses and caresses were not so out of place they stood out in a passionate embrace.

All the others were supposed to be out. Zane wandered off to spend time with his avian kin, Jay and Nya were off kindling their relationship, and Cole and Sensei Wu had gone off with the dragons to see a so called expert on the beasts to learn a bit more about each ninjas' steed.

That left the pair alone. Playful green eyes had a devious glint to them as a slender finger quirked, beckoning the other over to the practice mats for a little play wrestling. The spikey haired brunet was quick to obey his lover as he stalked closer to the other stressing a self assured swagger for the younger ninja. The couple circled eachother in a dance not foreign to their relationship. The older boy lunged, knocking over his green clad mate only to be kicked up flipping forward onto his back for the blond to atempt pinning the boy dressed in red.  
The green ninja was still somewhat lithe even after being transformed into an adult so the firey brunet easily turned the tables on his young friend and pinned the boy down with his legs. "Nice move Lloyd but you seem to have under estimated my strength again."

The blond shrugged helplessly on the mat with a smile. "Drat, you got me again. Guess that means that I'll just have to succumb to your lessons." The boy hissed out trying to be seductive.

Kai just rolled his eyes at his lover's antics and glanced at the clock on the wall of the training area. "Seems like we have time for some play. We've earned it anyway. Got any requests Llyod?" The red ninja asked before occupying his mouth with nibbling on the other boy's ear.

The blond moaned with half lidded eyes. "Let's just do it Kai. I at least want you once before the others get back." Lloyd emphasizdd his words by rolling his hips up to grind their groins together provocativly.

Kai dipped his head down in front of the other's teasingly, propping it up by leaning on the mat beside the young boy's head. "You know the drill. You gotta say it. Prove you can have this."

The recently aged boy blushed beneath his more experienced friend but the words came out easily as though they were well practiced. "I want you to fuck me Kai. I want your cock so far up my ass my dad will feel it."

Kai jerked up into a sitting position on the boy looking disgusted. "That's it. Lord Garmadon will now and forever be our safety word cause there is no way I can screw you while thinking of him."

Lloyd chuckled. "I thought Uncle Wu was the word. We're demoting him now?"

The red ninja glared down at his lover. "Whatever. Either way, you killed the mood." Kai moved to dismount the other warrior but Lloyd threw him off kilter and brought his elder back to the mat, pinning his lover more deteminedly this time.

The blond pressed his lips to his slightly chapped lover's in a small display of sweet affection before diving back down once more to give devoring his partner starting with his mouth a chance. When they parted both boy's lips were reddened by bites that must have taken place in their intimate battle but that did not stop Llyod from nipping playfully at Kai's neck before moving a red robe out of the way to suck on the older boy's shoulder.

Kai moved his newly released hands to the slender hips atop his own to slowly rock against his lover. "Okay, you got me. It's on." Lloyd shifted to look down on his lover who just brought his head up to meet the younger boy's by way of response. Mouths opened to battle in a lewd display making their hips clash against eachother to express the need in their war of the bodies. Both busied their hands with divesting Lloyd of his clothes when a small shuffling noise broke through they spell of their lust to knock dully on their honed ninja senses.

Lloyd lept up in an instant, trying to right himself though no amount of straightening his clothes could erase the bulge in his pants. "Who could be back this early?" He questioned his lover. "You think someone boarded the ship?"

As Kai pulled open the door to the empty hall, he shook his head. "Dunno what it was but it's gone now. Let's check out the rest of the ship just to be safe but I think it was just the draft. This thing is pretty old."

Lloyd nodded rubbing his arms a bit. "Yeah. It is pretty chilly out here. It was probably nothing but we can poke around a bit then head over to our room to finish this." Kai chuckled making Lloyd pout. "What?" The young ninja demanded.

"You said you were getting cold already. You are so getting used to my body heat man." Lloyd smacked his friend on the arm as the other continued to laugh. It was not like the temperatures on this ship were notorious for being stable.

~

Zane just couldn't help himself even though his friend was sick. Sensei Wu had instructed the ice ninja to keep an eye on his brother but the nindroid sincerely doubted this was what the man had in mind. Two hours had elapsed since the others had left to handle an emergency in Ninjago. And two hours had passed where one blue eye stayed trained on the peacefully sleeping form of his brother through the peep hole he had carved into the wall seperating their sleeping quarters from the main hall. Only now had Cole begun to stir with a raspy bout of coughing.

The black ninja sat up until the fit had passed then sank against the wall to gingerly sip at the cool glass of water Zane had left for him. Cole eyed the tea Sensei Wu had left for him warily before sighing and gulping down the rest of that too. The dark haired boy looked tired as he closed his eyes to rest sitting against the wall for a bit. Zane stirred with the intention of retrieving another drink of water for his brother but Cole's eyes opening once more made his movements stall.

Cole's dark eyes travelled downward, their brows furrowing a bit in annoyance. The earth ninja threw the sheet off of his body to glare at his crotch or more specifically, at the piece of flesh standing proudly up from it forming a tent in the ill boy's sleep pants. Cole sighed as though the last thing he wanted to deal with was what the other ninjas referred to as 'morning wood'. Either way, the reserved boy relented, slipping off his garments to expose his swollen erect penis.

"What the hell was I even dreaming about?" The earth ninja inquired of no one in particular in the thick voice wrought by his days of being sick. "Should I take care of it? I really don't want to take a cold shower. Aw to hell with worrying about them coming in, I'm not putting up with this shit." With a new resolve, Cole fisted his cock to lazily pump at it's length. He moved his other hand down to fondle his balls as his dark eyes slipped shut.

A small cough jerked his chest making his hand movements still momentarily before he began again. He mumble to himself, too quietly for even Zane's accute hearing to understand. All the android really picked up was bits and pieces through the pleasured moans of his friend. "Yes... Handle it... Prove..." The black ninja coughed again before his eyebrows creased and he redoubled his efforts on his erection.

Cole would let his fingers play a bit over the darkened head of his penis just as he did with his balls. The earth ninja moaned again and his eyes cracked open just a bit. He smirked in a sort of taunting way swivling his head to dimly regard his roomates' beds. "You guys shouldn't be watching shit like this but-" cough, cough, cough, "I guess I'll let this slide. I suppose someone has to show you how to do this shit at some point."

The ill ninja coughed some more, emphasizing how shallow his breathing had become as he pleasured himself. "Fuck." The boy tensed with his face scrunched up as his dick lept to release the seed that had been building up inside of his lower regions. Cole cleared his throat as he came down from his sated state and divested his body of semen with his sleep pants before tossing them to the floor without a care and curling up with his blanket to cough a bit more before sleep finally reclaimed his body.

The spell finally broke on Zane as his brother's breathing evened out once more and the android stood to refresh Cole's beverages and do the laundry. Once finished with his chores, the ice ninja sank down onto his bed and rubbed at his crotch deciding that the rough movement was not at all pleasant. He still could not understand what drove his brothers to touch that organ in such a way.


	2. Chapter 2

The black hood came down to expose Cole's flushed face so the tired ninja could bring yet another bottle of water to his face to drain the contents at record speeds. The rest of the team just watched as large gulps left water to slosh out of the container uncaptured to roll down the boy's neck bobbing on his overactive adam's apple. Cole breathed heavily as he rid the bottle of its last vestiges of cool liquid. Brought back down to normalcy, the leader regarded his friends with a bit of a frown. "Something wrong guys?"

Lloyd responded with slightly wide eyes "Dude! I wonder if I can do that?" The youngest ninja mused excitedly. The others just glanced at him bewildered by how the nearly grown man still retained his childish mind regardless of the potion's magic.

Cole tossed his water bottle away and readied himself for another go at sparring but the ninjas' sensei forestalled the black haired boy with a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps we should call this training session short. You may no longer be ill but you don't seem to be up to your normal strength. Zane, would you prepare some cleansing tea for your brother while I have a talk with the others about the body's limitations?"

"Yes sensei." The white ninja bowed out of the dojo respectfully to do the elder's bidding as the human boys all winced thinking of the disgusting concoction used as medicine on this ship.

"I really don't feel more tea is necessary Sensei." Cole announced with a frown. "I really am feeling much better, just a little tired is all. I should be training as normal."

The bearded man nodded sagely to his student's words. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Tea is unlikely to help your condition any longer."

Cole let out a relieved sigh. "I'm glad you agree. So I should uh- go get Zane?" The earth nina moved to pursue his friend but was stopped by his master blocking his path.

"You said no one needs to drink the tea sensei." Jay pointed out. "Shouldn't we, ya know, stop Zane from making any more of it... Ever again." He added beneath his breath though the other boy's caught it and chuckled a bit.

Wu shook his head. "I will drink the tea." He decided, putting the younger males at ease though they still appeared puzzled at their teacher's actions. "There is something I wished to discuss wih you boys though."

Kai glanced at his fellows before pointing out, "Shouldn't we wait for Zane to get back?"

Wu shook his head. "No, Zane is actually what I wished to speak with you about. When Lloyd aged so quickly in so short a time, I assumed he would make the ideal companion for our electronic friend. Though Lloyd was a faster learner and much more eager than I had anticipated. I'm afraid the lot of you have left your brother behind in the dust."

Lloyd blushed, "I haven't been learning that fast. The others still take me down nine times out of ten and Zane isn't the exception." The blond boy admitted.

"I was not referring to your training. I was referring to your progression through life. It seems there are just some things I cannot teach you boys and I was hoping one of you might volunteer to help explain some things to your brother. My methods fell short in this lesson no matter how I remember being a young man."

The young ninja were confused through most of their sensei's explanation but as more was revealed they began to understand. They left the dojo with Cole proclaiming he would drink the damned tea and gathered in the kitchen to ponder the older man's words as Cole and Zane settled down to drink the tea the nindroid had made. Jay crouched next to the wall that joined the eating area with the hallway and groped along the panelling there.

Zane leaned over for a better look at the blue ninja asking, "Jay, what are you doing?"

The boy in question straightened like a bolt of lightning in his shock. "Oh uh. I was just looking for any holes that might have been... Made... Here..." He stated awkwardly.

"There is a small one on the other side." The android pointed out much to the others' astonishment. They had not expected their friend to be so cavelier about his habits even if he had not precisely confirmed their sensei's words. Jay moved to the other side of the door and smoothed his hand over the wall there. "Lower and to the left," Zane directed helpfully and Jay found the hole and stuck his finger in it as though to convince himself it was really there.

Lloyd stared with wide horrified eyes. "So it's true then. Oh my God, I can't believe this."

"What is the matter Lloyd?" Zane questioned innocently making the youngest ninja blush with a pained expression on his face.

Jay shook off the white ninja's inquiry with one of his own. "Where did you even learn about that sort of stuff Lloyd? It's not like you are really our age-"

Cole cut in. "Everyone has needs Jay and not all of us are as guilty as you are with Nya. Lloyd's probably just been experimenting which is perfectly normal for guys our age so calm down."

Zane's brows creased as he asked, "What are you talking about?"

Kai shook his head. "I'm not doing it. Cole should have to do it, he's the leader."

Cole took a sip of his tea and grimaced. "Jay should do it, he's the experienced one."

Kai shot a glare at his auborn haired friend. "Jay better not be that experienced! Not with my sister."

The blue ninja threw his hands up in defense. "Hey, I haven't even gotten to second base yet." Jay whined.

"Well you better not try." Kai threatened.

Cole stood and pushed the pair apart. "Come on guys. We've gotta figure out what we're going to do." He pointed out.

"Do about what?" Zane inquired again. The other's looked to eachother for support or maybe answers but eventually they just settled for asking Zane for his help in plugging up all the holes in the walls.

A few days later, the resourceful ninja devised a plan. 

Lloyd pressed his face into Kai's back nervously. "I don't want to do this. What if they laugh at me or if I don't like what everyone else likes?"

Kai turned to face his lover, remembering just how young the boy really was and feeling a pang of guilt for all he had done to the kid. "Look, if anyone says anything, I'll take care of them. Just try to enjoy yourself, I'm sure you'll like what me and Jay picked anyway. Just relax and have fun. It's just five guys doing what guys do."

Lloyd was unconvinced. "So it's normal for friends to watch porn together?" The younger boy hazarded.

Kai shot him an uneasy smile. "Yeah. Just think of it as another part of our training." He assured the younger. Lloyd nodded and leant up to steal a kiss from his lover for reassurance before the pair joined Cole and Jay in the rec room.

Cole was bundled up in a blanket claiming to be cold while Jay fiddled with the T.V. to set up the system for their boys' night in. "Wu said he'll keep Nya busy until tomorrow night and gave us a number to call in case if anything goes wrong." Kai announced to the others who mostly just nodded, absorbing the information.

Lloyd looked alarmed. "Goes wrong? What's gonna go wrong?"

Kai patted the boy's back and pushed him down on the sofa next to the bundled up Cole reassuring the young ninja. "Nothing's going to go wrong. We just don't know how Zane's going to react cause he's not really like us. He all but shut down when he found out he was an android. We just want to make sure he's back to normal before we bring Nya back home."

"Nindroid," Jay corrected halfheartedly from his position on the floor.

Cole gave the green ninja a tight smile and shifted to make more room between them. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to Lloyd. You can leave right now if you really want to but it's kinda gonna be like when Jay or Kai jack off in the middle of the night. No one's gonna touch you or mess with you. We're just going to watch this together and show Zane what masturbating is supposed to be like then go our seperate ways. You don't even have to touch youreslf if it makes you uncomfortable. This is just so Zane can see it up close so we don't have to give the densest material in the universe the sex talk."

Kai scoffed. "Like you don't jack off Mr. High and Mighty. Sensei said Zane's watched us all in the throws of passion so don't act all innocent bro." Lloyd chuckled and his lover sat on his other side resting his arms nonchalantly on the back of the sofa. "And no peeking either you queers. Let's keep this as professional as possible." Kai chided.

"Kai?" Zane called from out in the hallway.

"We're in here!" Jay responded drawing the white ninja into the room. Jay grabbed the remote and shoved Zane onto the sofa before closing him in on the other side. "Want to watch a movie?"

The ice ninja looked puzzled and tried to get up but was pulled back down by fire and lightning. "Sensei Wu and Nya are missing. We must find them." The nindroid insisted.

Jay put his hand on the other's chest as he assured the white ninja the others were fine. "I spoke to Sensei. Him and Nya will be back tomorrow. They just had some errands to run. Don't worry about it. Let's just watch a movie to pass the time okay? This is one of my old favorites."

"Is it really?" Lloyd asked curiosly.

Cole shook his head and pushed the blanket to the floor slowly. "I don't think Jay's even seen porn before." The black ninja laughed.

"Have you watched porn before?" The blond boy asked.

The black haired boy shrugged. "Never had the chance." He admitted easily.

The younger boy turned to his lover who shrugged with a small shake of his head and suddenly had a sinking feeling in his gut when the nindroid finally agreed to watch the movie and Jay clicked the television on.

The image on the screen made Jay instantly fumble the remote.

"Oh my God! What is that?"

"Is that what sex looks like?"

"Is that thing an alien!?"

"Turn it off. Turn it off!"

"Turn off the fucking T.V. Jay!"

"I'm trying. I'm trying!" The blue ninja finally fished the controller from the floor and turned off the tape, slouching back onto the couch when he was done. "Alright guys, let's all agree right now to never do this again." Jay suggested.

"No arguments here." Kai agreed as Cole fished the blanket from the floor to envelope himself and Lloyd in for safety.

Zane glanced at all of his brothers in confusion before shrugging. "I don't know what this was but I'll agree if it makes you feel better." The white ninja stood but Kai grabbed him by his pants making the older blond turn to regard the fire ninja. "Are we not finished here?" He questioned.

Kai groaned. "I'll fucking do it!" He sat the android back down and turned to him intently. "Look, watching people have sex and stuff is creepy man. You gotta keep your weird fantasies in your head and leave the rest of us out of it. Just jack it in private to whatever goes on in that head of yours and we'll be all good."

Zane blinked, bewildered, and frowned. "Jack what Kai?" His blue eyes glanced over the others' flushed faces.

Kai groaned and buried his face in the green ninja's chest. Lloyd patted his lover's head addressing the nindroid. "He's talking about touching yourself like down there."

"Sexually," Cole clarified from further down on the piece of furniture.

"Oh I know all about sex. I've seen it."

Everyone turned to Jay at the nindroid's words who immediately denied his words. "I never had sex with Nya, I swear!"

Zane looked puzzled. "I never said you did, Jay."

Cole leaned over Lloyd with a bewildered expression. "Jay and Kai?!" He gaped.

Kai gripped his hair putting his reddened face in between his knees. "No. I had sex with Lloyd."

"What?!" Jay yelled.

Cole got up, scooted Lloyd over, and took the spot between the red and green ninja. "I'm just gonna sit right here. You what now?" He waved off Jay's freaking out expression.

Kai looked over at his leader with guilt in his brown eyes. "When Lloyd got older, he had some... Let's call them 'growing pains' and I helped him out. We just kind of went from there."

"You're gay?" Cole asked, not looking at any of the other boys.

Jay scoffed. "That's not the issue here. Lloyd's still technically a kid."

"I'm not a kid anymore and I'm not gonna stop sleeping with Kai. I-I like it." The green ninja confessed.

"Damn." Cole cursed, standing. "You do whatever you want." He conceded, eyes darting from the floor to ninjas, to the wall, to another ninja, to the door where he finally made his way to.

Jay looked at the two lovers and sighed. "I guess Sensei knows so whatever makes you guys happy... I'm gonna go get a beer." With that, the lightning ninja departed.

Zane smiled at the pair. "Did you still want to watch the movie?"

"No!"

"Oh hell no!"

Later that night~

Cole gave it his all, throwing his whole body into every punch and kick just how he was trained not to when sparring. His body burned with the exertion but he refused to let his training flag. Instead, the earth ninja merely shed his sweaty shirt and continued hammering down on the training mannequin. This was what he was born to do. Fighting was what his body was made for.

He kept at it for hours, denying thirst even as his sweat dripped onto the practice mats and denying his exhaustion even when his attacks missed the stationary dummy more than hit it. He panted, unsure of whether the heat overtaking his body was his fever coming back or from the workout. After a high kick routine, his legs gave out, dropping him unsuspectingly to the floor.

The earth ninja lay there, face to the mats for a long while before he finally flopped over onto his back. This was his destiny. Nothing else along the way really mattered. As long as Kai did not hurt Lloyd then they were doing their job in protecting the green ninja. As long as this didn't hurt the team dynamic then it was fine. Cole convinced himself that as long as everyone did their job, he did not care what else filled their free time, while staring at the ceiling boards. He did not know how long he had laid there on the floor but he felt better when he made peace with himself. He felt renewed when he decided he just wanted his friends to be happy. He felt like it was finally time to get some sleep.

In the morning~

"Yes Sensei. Thank you Sensei." Zane hung up the phone in the kitchen and turned to Jay and Kai. "He asked us to call when we sort everything out and to watch over Lloyd. He is still asleep?"

"Yeah... Look guys, I'm sorry about what I did. I didn't realize how pissed you guys would be. I just saw him and I liked him. I didn't think about what I was doing or how wrong it was. I can resist my gay urges, I swear. I won't touch anyone anymore. I just don't want Cole to be mad at me."

"Fuck Cole. I've never seen him act this way. If he doesn't like it, he'll just have to deal." Jay stated matter of factly. "We should check on Lloyd, it's almost ten." The three made their way through the Bounty talking quietly so they would not rouse any slumbering ninjas.

"Lloyd was up late last night." Zane observed.

"Yeah, crying mostly." Kai agreed morosely.

Jay nudged him. "He must have kicked you out of his bed four times last night." He said playfully. "Don't worry about it Kai. It'll all work out." He opened the door to the ninja's shared room expecting to see Lloyd fast asleep but not anticipating the sight of Cole sitting up on his black sheeted bed staring at the boy.

Kai froze up a moment but regained himself quickly and stalked quietly up to their leader. "I'm sorry if I offend you but I can't change how I feel and I never would have touched Lloyd if he didn't want it." He whispered obstinately.

Cole waved his words off as though he was barely listening. "I know you didn't. He said he likes you and Lloyd's never exactly been a pushover. I trust your judgement, the both of you." He said in hushed tones.

"Well- what did you say?" Kai asked, bewildered by the other boy's attitude. He had been so ready for a fight nothing short of one seemdd possible anymore.

Cole turned his tired eyes towards his comrades and gave them a small smile. "You have my blessing Kai. I hope the two of you are very happy together."

"Thanks man," Kai grunted out awkwardly.

Lloyd rolled over to glare at the older ninja. "Are you two almost finished? I'm trying to sleep here." The green clad boy fussed.

"Do you even know what time it is?" Jay mocked playfully.

"Uh- four AM?" The boy guessed sarcastically.

The red and blue ninja chuckled before Kai hopped into his lover's bed. "Close, it's ten and time to get up and eat some breakfast."

"Whatever." Lloyd mumbled, slipping away from the brunet as quickly as possible. Kai frowned at being abandoned so quickly but Jay just shrugged and gave his friend a reassuring smile. The other four followed the green ninja's lead which brought them to the kitchen, ending with them arguing over which breakfast cereal was the best.

It almost seemed like a normal morning for the group too quickly. The dark circles under Cole's eyes were easily dismissable since the boy often missed out on sleep. Lloyd's sluggish wit was common if the boy did not get quite enough sleep. And though Kai was just a bit jumpy but that was how he was when Nya was captured so it wasn't all that strange.

Lloyd shoved his spoon in his mouth before brandishing his box of choice claiming, "Oh yeah, well Cap'n Crunch out ranks all your suckers so you can just suck it!"

Cole groaned a bit. "As I've said before, Count Chocula just needs to bite all your guys and make them his marshmellow minions to win."

Kai grabbed the box next to his meal and held it up above the table like some sort of deity. "Well my parrot will just fly by and crap on all of your dudes' heads."

Jay knocked the box from the red ninja's grasp eliciting a whine from the boy before correcting him. "You're eating fruit loops you nut. That's Toucan Sam, he's a toucan, not a parrot."

"Still beats you're guy. Ooh follow the rainbow!" Kai mocked dancing around with his newly retrieved box, much to the other's amusment.

Zane frowned at his mascotless box of Cheerios declaring. "I do not see what any of this has to do with the nutritional value of the food."

Lloyd sighed. "You wouldn't. We need to get some Rice Krispies up in this joint. Snap, Crackle, and Pop would run these streets."

"No doubt." Jay grinned.

Zane looked from one to the other finding no answers. "But we are on a flying ship. There are no streets." He pointed out.

Cole, now finished eating, set to washing his bowl and putting up his cereal box while responding to the white ninja's confusion. "Not literally. It's a figure of speech."

"I see." Zane acknowledged as he and Jay followed the earth ninja's lead in cleaning their own dishes.

Lloyd leaned over to watch as Cole passed his bowl to the tall android so they could be stored away safely in the top cabinet. Kai raised an eyebrow at his lover's odd behavoir but said nothing until Jay turned back to the table to chastize the red and green ninja. "You two still aren't finished? I kind of expect the kid to eat slow but I expect more from the human vacuum cleaner."

Kai puffed out his cheeks in annoyance and shot a couple of Fruit Loops at the blue ninja's head. "Leave me alone, this is just my second bowl." Lloyd shook his head with a chuckle, slurping down the rsst of his milk.

Zane grabbed the remaining boxes of cereal, reading them both. "The recommended serving size is less than one of our bowls." He pointed out making Jay and Cole smile. Lloyd handed his now clean bowl to Cole who instantly passed it on to the other blond to be put up. Lloyd smiled making the other ninja give the dopey boy a wide berth.

After breakfast, the boys headed back to their room. Cole flopped back onto his bed sighing something about sleep. Jay and Zane headed off to the showers and as soon as Cole's breathing levelled out, Lloyd nudged his older partner excitedly. Kai turned to the blond, puzzled about why the green ninja would decide to elbow him when they were in the middle of changing their shirts. "What the hell man?" Kai asked.

Lloyd shushed him and stared at Cole for a moment before determining the other was still asleep. "Isn't it exciting? I didn't notice before but did you see how they were acting? Zane smiling at him and all."

"Zane's a friendly guy, he's almost always smiling."

"Cole handing over the bowls to him like it's normal to be spied on while you're jacking off by your friends."

"Cole's kind of short. It's just easier to make Zane put things up in the top cabinets. What are you getting at? They're just acting normal."

"Cole always tries to explain stuff to Zane and despite having absolutely no skill, Zane is still trying to teach Cole how to cook."

"So? They're friends..."

"They like eachother!" Lloyd concluded.

Kai shook his head. "Dude. I think you being evil for a while messed with your head. Those are just things normal friends do together." Even as he spoke, he did not sound so sure anymore.

"At least if they did, everyone could have someone." Lloyd grinned, watching the other boy slip on his shoes. "Cole and Zane, Jay and Nya... Me and... You..." The boy's green eyes darted away from the other ninja and he quickly stood. "Just a thought. It'd be pretty cool." He mused and quickly retreated from the room before the brunet could respond.

Kai finished with his shoe and collapsed back onto his bed. "That would be something Lloyd." He said quietly though the other was probably far gone by now. Why did he keep doing that? Kai chuckled. "Cole and Zane. That'd be something. Put the most emotionless guy on the team with the robot. What could possibly go wrong?"


	3. Chapter 3

Cole flopped onto his back. His muscles were tense and restless from pretending to be asleep as his friends changed. It was not as though he hadn't thought of that himself. With everyone else taken, all that was left was him and Zane. When he met Sensei Wu, Cole had not thought about how little time ninja had to meet that special someone. Cole merely knew that being here and fufilling his destiny was what he was meant to do. His chances at love were about the same here as anywhere else he decided. His conclusion, he had about a zero point zero chance in all of Ninjago to find someone to love. He may as well end up with an android made specifically to be a ninja, the only thing Cole really felt he was good at.

He could hear muffled voices from the hall. Kai and Jay, unless he missed his guess. He closed his eyes, trying to rest though his body denied his willing it to sleep. "Mshirll ecane ouffa um soos. Cole imf dying nym feep." The obscured voice sounded like Kai's. Why was Kai talking about him dying?

Cole rolled off of his bunk easily into a crouching position and silently stalked towards the makeshift patch in the wall covering the peep hole. Jay's response was much clearer from this vantage point. "Like I said, who cares about Cole? If you and the kid are happy then he will just have to deal with it. No one was asking for his permission anyway, I certainly don't remember having to run my relationship with Nya by him first. Why should you and Lloyd be any different?"

"I still hope he wasn't bluffing. I don't want things to get weird between us." Kai confessed quietly.

Jay cackled. "Dude things are already weird. I can't see how things can get much weirder. A nindroid watched you plow your ten year old boyfriend and we are supposed to teach him about sex cause it's been a century since Sensei got laid. What part of that isn't weird?"

"Well I- just go put some clothes on before Cole freaks out about you going around in your birthday suit." Kai retorted playfully like he normally would.

The earth ninja stumbled away from the wall in a panic just as the door opened to expose him in an awkward position to the dripping team nindroid. "Cole? What are you doing?" Zane inquired looking puzzled and surprised to see the darker featured boy.

Jay peeked past the blond while the black haired boy was still trying to regain his balance from when his limbs had temporarily turned dumb. The lightning ninja smirked, "Either he's trying to communicate with his dad in his native language or Cole might be under Serpentine control again." He sniggered.

Cole threw both of his arms up into the air, blurting out the first excuse that came to mind. "No- I was just stretching. My limbs were too sore to fall asleep." The leader hazarded, hoping the two boys wearing nothing more than towels would buy into the excuse.

Jay pushed past Zane and made his way to his dresser. "Whatever man. We're just here to put some clothes on unless that offends you." The blue loving ninja dropped his towel with a cocky sway of the hips that made Cole gawk at the boy's strange antics. Jay peeked at the black clad boy over his shoulder and smirked before making a show of picking out what clothes he was going to wear. "Nope, can't wear these shorts, someone might get scared of them."

"Why would someone be afraid of clothing?" Zane asked innocently and Cole grimaced after turning to see the nindroid toweling his body dry. Even if the blond boy was an android, it was still a full sight to see. His creator was very thorough in his designs.

Jay spun around to face Cole in all of his naked glory. "I don't know, Zane. What do you think Cole? Why would a couple of gay guys offend someone?" The blue ninja questioned his friend with a malicous tinge to his voice.

Cole kept his dark eyes on the piercing green ones of his brother. He vaguely knew that the auburn headed boy's hands propped on his hips made a perfect arrow down to the man's pride and joy. Near black orbs in a sea of white stayed far above the equator though.

It was an unspoken rule for a long time between the brothers that some things were not to be made a big deal of. Male nudity was one of those things. Even accidental touches in more intimate areas were ignored due to the boys' constant close proximity. They sparred together, ate together, changed together, showered together, watched TV together, and sometimes even bunked together if the need arose. If one's hand brushed against another's thigh then it was considered a calculated risk associated with their tight quarters. Likewise, seeing eachother naked was not an uncommon happenstance.

But now Cole was having trouble facing his straight as a board friend that had established the rules with him. After nearly a month of bumping into eachother in exhaustion, the two had silently agreed not to mention how strange it was that they would occasionally lean on eachother for support. Since Zane had such peculiar mannerisms, it had been just Cole and Jay against the android at first but soon they accepted the blond into their pact through a nonexistent initiation. After that, acting like Kai and Lloyd were the weird ones for thinking watching sports with another dude's thigh rubbing against their own was a disgusting prospect eventually brought them all into the understanding. But now, Cole could not bear the thought of either accidentally or purposefully checking out his brother's junk.

When the black ninja never gave an answer, his opposite spoke with his bewildered blue eyes widening. "Homosexuality makes you uncomfortable./?" The statement was lost somewhere in a strange limbo between an accusation and a question. Ashamed charcoal eyes flicked back over to the android who had arleady donned his underwear and a white T-shirt but had stopped somewhere in the middle of putting on his pants. It was odd seeing such a methodical person frozen in the process of putting on pants. One leg was securely enveloped within a tube of severely bleached blue jean fabric while the other was hovering over the opening to the other leg of the pants. Zane was crouched in such a way that Cole would have believed it if Wu told him it was a ninjitsu position the android had picked up before the Sensei could introduce it to the other ninja.

Zane was a reassuring sight to the ninja leader. Seeing the android mostly dressed gave the earth endowed boy enough ground to steady himself. He closed his dark eyes with his newfound control and took a slow calming breath. "I am not uncomfortable with gays. I said before, I am fine with Kai and Lloyd as long as it does not get in the way of the green ninja's safety." Dark chocolate eyes locked with unreal icy blue ones.

The android's face was stoic and calculating. At one point, Cole might have been unnerved by Zane's unemotional tendancies but now the rocky ninja knew his friend was just storing, sorting, and figuring the new infortmation with whatever else he had gathering dust in his mind. The black clad boy was so thoroughly distracted by his blond brother that he did not even notice the other ninja in the room sneaking up behind him, naked. "Gotchya!" Jay cried out next to an ear almost completely hidden in locks of black hair. "Does this make you uncomfortable Mr. Stony Face?" Cole figured the rambunctious young man was referring to having wet naked arms wrapped around his shoulders and an equally unclothed body pressed against his back without warning.

Cole figured he was right to answer the question first with an indignant squawk. The surprised grunt showed every bit how he was feeling: surprised, annoyed, and a little disturbed by the other's actions. "Jay!" The earth ninja fussed at the lightning.

Jay's hold was strong enough that even the stronger ninja could not break out of it. Cole could feel the junk yard brat nuzzling the back of his neck to add to his discomfort as the unclothed boy proclaimed, "Aw, I'm just showin' how much I love ya bro. Hold still, I'm almost finished."

"Finished what!?" The leader of the ninja barked in a panic.

In his frenzied state Cole did not notice Zane's approach until it was too late and the android's arms were wrapped around him entraping him as surely as Jay's and ensuring his fate to remain in their hold until the other two released him. "I love you too. I am glad we all have eachother as a family." The blond announced and the black haired boy could feel his other friend stifling chuckles against the nape of his neck.

"But couldn't you have at least put your pants on first?" Cole spluttered noting that the white ninja had shuffled over with his jeans around his ankles. Jay shook with what the dark haired boy would describe as maniacal laughter. "Oh shut it Jay, you started this." Despite how unlikely his escape was, the black ninja still pushed against his captors' arms.

"What in spinjutsu is going on here?" Cole craned his head around the nindroid to stare pleadingly at Lloyd who was safely stationed in the doorway, away from the lovefest taking place midroom. The green ninja was shaking a bit with suppressed laughter while simultaneously appearing shocked and hesitant to approach the cluster. "You know what? I don't think I want to know."

Jay swayed the whole group for emphasis, calling out. "We just love eachother SO much!" Cole was a captive participant to the rocking, unable to alter it in any noticable way. He did however shift his weight accordingly to balance out the group so they did have any unfortunate mishaps. Too bad Zane did not get the memo that Jay was insane because soon the trio went toppling over onto the partially dressed white ninja. "Wah-" Apparently the concept that this could have possibly been a bad idea was lost on the lightning powered boy.

Cole promptly bucked Jay off of his back, leaving the auburn haired boy to flop onto the ground as naked as the day he was born. The black ninja jumped away from Zane as if touching him had burned leaving the older blond to peer up at his short friend questioningly. The black haired ninja cleared his throat with a blush, "Never do that again." He ordered precisely. The was not much dignity to be had after an episode like that but he soaked up every bit he could before trudging out the door and past the youngster into the hall.

The other three glanced at each other before they busted into laughter. Their guffaws chased the black haired boy almost all the way to the deck of the vessel where he found the only ninja unaccounted for. "Couldn't sleep?" Kai startled his leader from his thoughts with the unexpected question.

Cole actually jerked in suprise making Kai arch a brow in bemusement. The black haired ninja calmed his features hoping his distressed expression might take hiw blush with it when it parted from his face. No such luck. "N-uh. No, I was having trouble with the noise and um..." What did he tell the others earlier when they caught him eavesdropping? "Stretching!" That was it.

Kai's face scrunched up like he really could smelly the fishiness of his friend's story. "You couldn't sleep because of stretching noises?"

Cole face palmed. He could not have actually said that. He winced at his stupidity. He really needed to get a grip or this would be grade school all over again. He was the calm and level headed earth ninja for cripe's sake. "The noise was keeping me up so I got up to stretch then the others- Nevermind. I just couldn't sleep."

"So you were awake when me and Lloyd were changing our clothes?" The fiery boy filled in the gaps.

Nearly black eyes met a hazel hued gaze. When had Cole lost his control? He blamed Jay. Yeah, Jay was the cause of all evil on the ship, along with Lloyd, Kai, and Zane. They were all the reason Cole couldn't keep his cool. All of them and their- He halted that line of thought deliberately in favor of squaring off with the red ninja. "Yes." He confessed calmly as though it was no fault of his that the other two had assumed he was slumbering.

Kai nodded as the word sunk in and his mind processed the information. His hazel eyes were not exactly focused on Cole as the boy thought. Kai never really was the best of them at multitasking. His words came out stilted and choppy at first. "You- heard- us talking." The hazel lenses crept back up to focus on their leader's eyes. There was that self assured clarity present that Kai was so good at. "So, is it true?" He asked making the black clad boy furrow his brow confusedly. "Do you like Zane?" Kai clarified.

Cole did not know what to say. In all of his pondering of the situation, he had not really thought of it like that. Did he like the mechanical boy? Cole had merely sulked about the fact that he was the last one picked for the game, not that he didn't want to play it with Zane. There was only one person the black ninja had entertained romantic thoughts about since he left home. He had never really considered how he felt about Zane. If they did not favor each other then why even bother with pursuing a romantic relationship? He could just put off his love life a bit longer. If he and Zane did not like each other then nothing would change for them.

"Of course not. As the leader I must be impartial to all of you to better direct you in battle."

"Oh can it with the good leader talk." Kai snarled. "Liking someone has nothing to do with ninjaing."

"You've been spending too much time with Jay." Cole observed the other's special use of verbs. "Look I- I've got a girl back at home." He lied. He finally had all of his skills functioning again, stoic face, even voice, and a steady gaze. Kai never really stood a chance against Cole if he decided to fib. Well, not unless if the fire ninja decided to call him out on his lie.

"Oh. Cool! Hey, we can all do like a triple date thing. Man it must be ages since you got to see her. We should go visit!" Kai said enthusiastically. How was it that such excited words made Cole feel such intense dread? Oh yeah, because he lied like an idiot and now he had to find a way out of this mess.


	4. Chapter 4

After Zane called Sensei Wu, assuring the man that it was okay for the old spinjutsu master and the resident samurai to return to their aerial home, the two returned with less than an hour's hesitation. First, Nya swung onto the deck from the rickety rope ladder they used to board and disembark from the ship. The dark-haired girl settled her bags with a small tight smile aimed at her brother before her eyes lit up at the sight of her beloved boyfriend. By the time Wu made it onto the airborne planks, the young woman had rushed across the deck to throw her arms around Jay in an embrace he eagerly returned.

Kai rolled his eyes at the gesture and the sensei gave his fiery pupil a knowing smile. "Things did not go exactly as planned I take it." The man guessed while wisely stroking his time whitened beard. Kai responded with a huff as he hefted his sister's bags onto his strong shoulders. His eyes were locked on the scene of Jay rocking his little sister back and forth in an endearing embrace. "She doesn't know, if you're wondering. I thought it would be best if you chose to tell them yourself. Though it doesn't seem like that is what happened."

Kai's head snapped back to the elderly man so fast he should have gotten whiplash but the grayed man just gave Kai another omniscient look. Something within the fire ninja shifted into unease. It had not really occurred to him that their sensei knew he'd had sex with the youngest member of their team. He had not even begun to worry about what his lover's uncle might think of their arrangement. Sure, Kai had batted the idea around when they first started this fling about how everyone might react when they found out, but when Sensei Wu exposed Zane's perverted pass time, the brunet had not considered the fact that his sensei probably knew that he was screwing his nephew. Now those dark eyes set into a time weathered face should have had the younger ninja panicking and heading for the hills, apologizing for the secrecy at the very least, but somehow Kai felt more at peace. Wu had known without their telling him. Sure, Kai would have preferred telling the man himself with Lloyd by his side but obviously the spinjutsu master was not put off by their relationship. Sensei Wu had given them their space and for that Kai was grateful.

Kai confided a small smile with his master. "No, it didn't go how I wanted either. I wanted to get to tell everyone myself but I guess I waited too long." The fire ninja's brown eyes drifted back to the happy couple across the deck. There was only one person left to tell. Kai knew Nya would support him. She may be shocked and a little rattled but he and Nya always had each other's backs. A small amount of peace crept into his core making him feel lighter even with her bags strung all over his body.

Not one to miss a beat or the chance to dispense unscheduled lessons, Wu bid Kai goodbye with his not so mysterious lesson embedded in his parting words. "Sometimes matters placed out of our control still have a way of working themselves out." The student studied his sensei's retreating figure reminded of how the man forced them to grow not only as ninja but as people as well. He wondered if the man thought of him and Lloyd as things somehow working themselves out. The thought just made Kai ponder what the problem could have been if the two ninja together was the solution.

-

Lloyd dipped his spoon into his second pudding cup of the day before the sun even had a chance to think about reaching its zenith. The boy reveled in the creamy taste as the treat slid from the spoon to its final resting place. A quiet chuckle broke through the green ninja's reverie and his bewildered eyes darted to take in his travel haggard uncle. "Uncle Wu! How was Ninjago? What did you and Nya do in the city?"

"We went sight seeing mostly. Visited the museum and took the time to visit some old friends of mine. Nya and I had a very nice time back among other people again but it is good to be back." Lloyd could relate. Living out of a flying ship and seeing mostly the same six people day in and day out could get pretty stale. Lloyd was sure it must have been nice getting out and about if only for a couple of days.

The boy popped his spoon back into his mouth only to look down despairingly into the empty pudding container. It felt like he did not even eat anything at all as far as his body was concerned. He suppressed a sigh and trudged over to the cabinet mumbling to himself, "Wonder what's for lunch. I sure hope Cole's not cooking." He spotted a box of crackers and pulled them from the shelf without thought.

Uncle Wu was studying him as the young man plopped back down at the table and started pulling the disks from their packaging and munching them down by the mouthful. "Wun sumf?" The boy offered holding the box angled towards his elder. The man just shook his head with a smile. Lloyd crunched a couple more crackers to avoid feeling awkward for just staring at his uncle. Though he would blame his parents at every chance for it, the blond boy knew his terrible relationship with his family was probably somehow his own fault. He was never quite sure what to say or do around his uncle. The man had taken him in as a bad child and took care of him without question, something not even his parents would do. Now, Lloyd was the legendary green ninja, still mooching off of his elderly kin while coming up with ways to take down his own father.

It was bizarre, for once having the desire to not upset or disappoint someone. He had of course played some pranks on Uncle Wu and the ninja when he was still a kid but now that he was older, Lloyd decided it was time to grow up and stop being such a punk. The fate of all of Ninjago depended on him now but he had no idea how to act if he was not trying to be a bad boy. It was different with his uncle than anyone else though. With everyone his age being cocky and defensive seemed to fit. He was the green ninja but he still had a lot to prove to come into his own so he needed to remind them that he was their equal. But with Uncle Wu he was just the nephew from the evil side of the family. Lloyd knew that they would take care of him. They had to keep the green ninja safe but Uncle Wu took him in before he knew that he was the hero of prophecy. The whole situation just flabbergasted the boy.

Sensei Wu was never one to be oblivious though. "Is something on your mind Lloyd?" It sounded less like a question than the young man thought it probably should. Then again, Uncle Wu usually had some inexplicable insight into everyone else's minds. It was not really all that surprising that the man could tell someone was trouble just by the way they snacked on crackers.

Lloyd let his hand fall away from his face. "Uh no? I'm just hungry, you know?" Clear green eyes averted from the elder's wrinkled face though he could still feel his uncle's heavy gaze peering into his core. There was a moment of quiet between the two and all that could be heard from the kitchen was a faint shushing noise that echoed through the ship as it flew and the muffled voices of the other passengers in the rec room down the hall.

The young man shifted uneasily in his chair though he somehow got the impression that his uncle was as much at ease as at any other time. "You're body needs more nutrients as it grows. You also expend a quite a bit of energy training. It makes sense that you might eat more." There went another explanation from Sensei Wu without Lloyd asking.

The idea bounced around his mind like an echo reverberating through a canyon and the blond nodded. "I guess. I always thought it was just pregnant chicks who had weird cravings. I almost thought that I-" Green eyes widened as the boy caught himself and checked his uncle's face to make sure he did not slip up and say that he was worried Kai might have gotten him pregnant. They had been going at it for weeks now and the time spent with the fire ninja seemed like a blur so Lloyd could not actually remember how long he had been eating absurd amounts. He had never seen a pregnant man before but he was not sure he ever saw another pair of gay guys either. goosebumps spread across his skin with the cold's light touch tracing its fingers along his body. If he was pregnant he was going to kill Kai and then just die of embarrassment. Yeah, that was good plan.

Uncle Wu arched an eyebrow as though he could read Lloyd's panicked thoughts but his words betrayed his ignorance. "Thought you were what?" The man asked with concern staining his caring voice. "If you have any concerns about your health please let me know. There could be many unknown side effects from the tomorrow tea."

Lloyd frowned, feeling a bit guilty about deceiving his closest relative. "Na, it's probably just the training and stuff." He really hoped getting pregnant was not a side effect from sex with Kai.

-

After an odd hodge podge of a random assortment of ingredients Jay somehow managed to make a passible meal from, Cole set off to clear the table, Zane left to monitor and further plot the Destiny's Bounty's course, Jay and Nya crept off to snuggle in front of the T.V., and Sensei Wu excused himself to retire for the night leaving Kai and Lloyd a bit of alone time in their room. Kai closed the door quietly after the two complementary ninja and took off his shirt to wedge under the door wishing, not for the first time, that the door had a real lock. The younger teen took one wide-eyed look at the gesture and his lover's bare chest before blushing and turning around quickly to roll himself up in the green sheets on his bed.

Kai pursed his lips. Why was Lloyd being so cold suddenly? The blacksmith trudged over to his junior and laid a hand on the boy's side feeling the muscles tense beneath his fingers. He lowered his lips next to an ear hidden in soft blond locks and whispered, "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" He rubbed the other in attempt to convince his young friend. "Please say something." He whined when the blond did not immediately answer.

Lloyd turned to him with his face scrunched up in an adorable pout that Kai tried not to imagine on a too recently younger face. Shimmering emeralds burrowed into Kai's nerves and made him regret pestering the other for the sake of his own safety. Lloyd groaned, "No I just- got a lot on my plate. With training and stuff..." As his words broke off so did his rather intense gaze.

Kai shook his head with a disbelieving chuckle. "I'm your teacher Lloyd. You've been doing fine with training, better than ever. Try again."

Clear green orbs snapped back to Kai with venom coursing through them and their master. "Just drop it okay? I'm fine. Okay?" Lloyd questioned irrately. Kai responded by tracing a line across the boy's lightly developed abs. The green ninja's training really was coming along and the proof could be seen or, even better, felt in his newly formed firm muscles. The fire ninja just could not help how his fingers followed a perfect dip all the way down into the other's armpit. Lloyd lurched with uncontrollable laughter when his lover's hands danced across his sensitive skin. The teenager gasped pleas earnestly. "Stop! Stop! I can't- Kai!"

Playful brown eyes twinkled as the fiery teen mercifully stilled his movements and pinned his lover with a steady grip around the slim boy's waist. "I'll say you're fine." He murmured huskily in his friend's ear.

Lloyd giggled and looked up to his elder through his thick blond lashes charmingly. "Seriously? 'I'll say you're fine'?" He mocked.

"Shut up." Kai mumbled into the soft lips of the boy beneath him smiling a bit to ruin any chance of pretending to be annoyed. He moved his hand upward on his lover's body making the green clad man stiffen until he skipped over any ticklish parts to cup the back of the boy's head.  
Kai lapped at Lloyd's lips and the other responded immediately, tilting his head just right to deepen the kiss to something more passionate. Not a moment or breath was spared as the older boy pressed his mate firmly into the bed and plunged his tongue into the other's mouth teasingly in a vague imitation of what he really wanted to do to the boy.

Lloyd gave a brief distracted moan before pulling away with a wince. Kai did not mind. He just moved on to nip at the corded muscle at the junction of the blond's neck and shoulder before sucking gently on the tender skin there. He could feel the man pinned beneath him swallow thickly as hands greedily smoothed over his naked chest. "S'not fair," He declared breathily as the brunet moved to tackle a location further up on his neck. "You cheat." He accused.

Kai sat up with a disheveled and bewildered look. "How so?" He inquired with his head askew just slightly and his rough hands daringly exploring the hilly terrain beneath his lover's shirt, pushing the offending garment ever closer to the point of no return. Shirts were overrated anyhow. Lloyd certainly did not need one.

The green-eyed teenager was not entirely impressed by the other boy though and settled for glaring and crossing his arms, trapping the warm hands in the territory just beneath his pecs. "You just do." The boy pouted making Kai smirk. He had to admit there was only one word to describe Lloyd pouting with kiss reddened lips, his hair sticking out in every which way on a crooked pillow, and an innocent blush dusted across his cheeks. Cute. Lloyd was definitely cute. Kai did not say that though. Lloyd would definitely let him have it then.

Instead, Kai leant down to recapture those adorable pouty lips but froze when a loud abrupt skidding noise invaded the room. The red ninja nearly fell on his ass stumbling from the bed and any provocative position he might have been caught in. He flopped backwards onto whatever bed he happened to land on and tried to appear as nonchalant as possible while Lloyd finished straightening up his own appearance by hastily running his slender fingers through his silky hair.

All the while, Cole growled and groaned about the door being stuck. "What the-? Urgh! I swear, if Jay's been leaving his shit around again, I'll throttle him with it." The black ninja methodically worked the door open a crack before ripping the shirt from beneath it. "Damn it Kai!" The angry boy froze as he glanced up to catch a view of the room's occupants. He stared with his dark calculating eyes of a leader with the shirt clutched firmly against his chest. "Nevermind," he grumbled, lowering his gaze and the clothing to drop onto Kai's dresser.

Nearly black eyes rose to quickly scrutinize one boy then the other before closing briefly as Cole gave a shake of his head probably to dispel the memory of catching the two making out. "Sorry, I should go." The earth warrior apologized and turned on his heel to exit.

"No!" Lloyd practically shouted making both boys turn to him in surprise. "It's fine. You don't have to go. Who knows when the other's 'll be back anyway?" Kai frowned, realizing that the boy was still trying to avoid him for some reason.

Cole gave an uncomfortable shrug of his shoulders before passing by Kai with an arched brow on the way to his own bunk. "Right." He acknowledged awkwardly.

Lloyd wrapped himself in his sheets, probably to hide any evidence of their earlier activities. His darkened green irises were trained on the powerful earth ninja as he leaned against the wall to sit more comfortably. "So, Cole, how's it going?" The young ninja inquired awkwardly.

The black-haired boy looked from one to the other and back again. "You know, I could still leave. It's not that big of a deal." He reasoned politely.

Kai denied him with a forced smile. "It's alright. The moment's passed anyway." Cole nodded with a slight frown. Kai could not blame the older teen for wanting to escape. He would probably try to run too in the same circumstances.

"So, how are things going with Zane?" The blond asked excitedly.

Cole looked aghast for a moment before regaining his composure. "How would I know?" Came his defensive reply.

Kai cut in to dissolve the misunderstanding before the pair managed to make something worse out of the situation than it already was. "Cole doesn't like Zane. They're just friends. That's it."

Cole nodded absently and Lloyd frowned, already prepared to make it into an argument. "Why not? Zane's a good dude. He's tall and-"

"Not everyone is interested in boys Lloyd," Kai interjected.

"Ohhhh. Right. Er, well you know ninja sure are getting popular in the city. There might even be some girls in Dareth's classes." Lloyd pointed out regaining his excitement as he spoke.

Cole opened his mouth to respond but Kai was faster. "Cole's already got a girl back home." He explained. The earth ninja made a face drawing the other brown eyes boy's attention but the oddity was gone so quickly he had to wonder whether he had imagined the twitch.

Lloyd did not seem to notice. "Oh really? What's her name? What's she like?" Kai had to wonder if maybe Lloyd should have been born a girl. Then again, the kid always was nosy and pushy, so him wanting to know everything was not exactly out of the ordinary.

The door opened again to admit the white ninja and Cole ignored the green to greet his older friend. "Hey Zane. What's happening?"

The nindroid looked puzzled. "Well Jay and Nya are watching the television and sensei is resting. Everyone else is here. Why do you ask?" It still tickled the blacksmith how clueless his robotic friend could be at times.

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "He just asks because he doesn't want to talk about his ugly girlfriend. He's obviously ashamed of her. I mean, why else hasn't he brought her up before?" Kai shook his head a bit, trying to get his friend's attention but Lloyd did not seem to notice. "I bet she's fat. She is, isn't she?"

Cole perked up. "No she's not fat. She's really pretty too. Her name's McKaila actually." He said matter of factly making Lloyd deflate a bit in the process.

"McKaila," Zane repeated emotionlessly. It sounded just like any other thing to Kai's ears but he could not help but wonder now if the nindroid favored Cole like Lloyd believed. "Why haven't you talked about her before? What is she like?" Kai felt a sinking feeling at those words. Zane did not look upset but he was a weird guy. What if he did like Cole?

The black ninja did not look concerned. "Oh she's great. I just- miss her. We've been friends for forever. It's weird being away from her for so long."

"Aw we should go visit her!" Everyone turned to Jay who was standing in the doorway partially hanging from the molding. "Who is she again?"

Zane smiled good-naturedly. "McKaila's Cole's girlfriend!" He said excitedly. For some reason, even though the white ninja seemed perfectly fine, Kai just couldn't shake the feeling that this was a bad idea. Unfortunately, he did not have anything more than a hunch to support his suspicions.


	5. Chapter 5

Zane felt content with his surroundings though he could sense his friends' agitation. Sensei Wu sat next to the cybernetic ninja, sipping at a cup of tea serenely and that was the end of the pleasant company. Not far away, Cole was lifting barbels with barrels of water on each end just to add a bit of weight as the dark featured boy stared intently at the sky line looking troubled. Kai was taking Lloyd through various forms while Nya surveyed the pair, occasionally offering her own insight to train the green ninja. Zane could tell Kai and Lloyd were uncomfortable under the girl's intense scrutiny.

Jay kicked open the door to the lower floors hurriedly and bustled on to the windy deck, his body laden with all sorts of equipment. In his excitement, the blue ninja lost his balance trying to the get to the rails and instead found himself and many miscellaneous tools caught by his earth powered brother.

Zane hopped to his feet quickly as well, ready to take on some of the heavy burden his friend had heaved all the way outside. "I am fairly certain the storm will not be going away any time soon brother. Weather reports state that it will persist throughout the night and into the morning." He helpfully supplied frowning at the steel rods Jay had given him to hold.

"You sound like a weather man." Jay grumbled scowling at Kai who was still laughing about the blue ninja nearly tripping on his own feet. Nya gave her boyfriend a sympathetic look while Lloyd just frowned at the inventor's supplies curiously. Jay thrust a couple of poles at Cole commanding the surprised boy, "Here, put these together. If I can just get this in there... Can't we get any closer to the storm?" He asked Sensei Wu with a child like glimmer to his hazel eyes.

Kai answered before anyone else got a chance to. "Oh no! Not after last time. We aren't driving headlong into a thunderstorm in a flying ship with no one who can control lightning. You're just going to have to figure out your precious science experiments from here sparky." The fire ninja said crossing his arms obstinately.

Jay snorted, enthusiasm undeterred by his friends negativity, "Oh there's gonna be someone who can control the storm. You'll see. This time, it's gonna work!" Zane hoped the boy was right but he found it unlikely that Jay could regain his powers through the force of a natural storm. Everyone else seemed to have about the same level of faith in the auburn haired teenager's plan though some seemed more worried and alarmed due to Jay catching the deck on fire in his last attempt to harness lightning.

"Don't you remember the last time you tried to get your elemental powers back?" Cole reminded the other though he was still helping do whatever Jay directed.

"Yeah, and I know what went wrong!"

Cole gave his friend a deadpan look accompanied by flat words. "You coated the mast of a flying ship with metal plates then flew the whole thing into the center of a typhoon. Isn't all of that wrong?"

Jay grumbled. "Yeah but this time I'll redirect the electricity straight to the amplifier so the ship won't catch on fire."

"Oh joy," Cole remarked sarcastically. His dark eyes followed the motion of Jay unfolding a lengthy span of silky looking material. "What's that?"

"It's a kite!" Lloyd cheered.

Zane took another look at the structure his friends were assembling. "You're right." He agreed in shock. "It's an enormous kite." He could see the contraption coming together and bent to retrieve the twine that would be used to anchor the sizable kite to their ship. It was a rope consisting of finely braided chords that were somehow malleable and metallic while still having an excellent hold. "This is a synthesized metallic fiber." He reasoned, seeing that the skin of the kite was formed of the same material.

Jay grunted, struggling to assemble the contraption quickly though the storm hardly appeared ready to move on. "I know what it is, I'm the one who ordered it."

Kai shook his head looking confused. "What is it?"

"It's a good conductor that can fly." Nya supplied peering at the assembled mess with worry. "And what is the amplifier going to do with all that electricity once it has it exactly?"

"It's going to amplify it." Kai guessed with a grin and a shrug.

"What are you planning to do with so much power Jay?" Zane inquired fighting concern over the implications of his friend's experiment. How was a human to regain the ability to control lightning? It seemed just as likely that sitting in the freezer might bestow some ice ability on the white ninja.

Jay turned to look at his uneasy friends before beaming. "Duh! I'm gonna recharge my elemental powers." He said the words as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

Sensei Wu finally spoke up. "Now this I cannot condone. Damaging the Bounty is one thing but hurting yourself in the pursuit of power is something else entirely. I'm afraid there will be no 'recharging' until I am certain this stunt will not kill you."

Lloyd scoffed. "Man, Jay sure does put the 'mental' in 'elemental powers'."

"This is not a joke Lloyd!" The man snapped at his nephew. "You will disassemble that kite and the Bounty will steer clear of the storm until it passes. Do you understand?"

"Yes sensei," Jay answered immediately.

The elderly man turned to the rest of the teenagers expectantly who, after a brief pause, also gave their assent. Sensei Wu nodded tiredly and collected his tea set along with the cord still in Zane's hands before making his way below deck out of the wind.

"Aw man! I was so close too." The blue ninja bemoaned while throwing his arms into the air animatedly. He unfastened clasps on his kite with jerky frustrated movements.

Lloyd groaned, "You think we didn't want to see you electrocute yourself?" He called out before tramping back to where he and Kai were training before. Kai chuckled and followed the sarcastic kid back to teach him.

Zane frowned, aghast at such an idea. Jay could really get hurt if he electrocuted himself. "I don't think that would be a good idea."

Cole put a hand on his shoulder. "That's why Wu stopped him. Maybe we should just set course away from the city until the storm blows over. It should be safer to the west of here."

Zane crinkled his brow in confusion. "Don't you wish to see McKaila? The Bounty should be safe at this distance. There is very little risk and the storm should not persist for more than sixteen hours. If we remain anchored here, we should be able to dock early tomorrow morning."

Cole directed a tight smile at his mechanical friend. "You're right. It makes sense to stay here. You did drive the ship all the way back to my hometown after all. Might as well go see McKaila while we are here." The expression was far different than the shock that had overcome the earth ninja upon waking to find his friend had changed course to visit Cole's loved ones while the others slept.

Zane recalled the whole crew's surprise at their sudden relocation. Once Zane explained his reasoning most everyone seemed excited. Nya and Sensei Wu required a bit of catching up on why they were hovering just outside of Cole's hometown but once the secret was out about the black ninja's sweetheart everyone was very accepting. Their sensei had even lamented that taking a break from their isolation could prove beneficial to the ninja's health. The white ninja could remember his black counterpart's hesitation about returning to his home and wondered if the man truly was as enthused to see his girlfriend as he claimed.

"Is there some reason you do not wish to dock here?" Zane questioned the other, not wanting to upset his friend.

Cole frowned and peered over the railing solemnly before turning back to the blond with his arms crossed. "Well I was kind of hoping we'd dock a little closer to the city. We're like a mile out still and I think we can find a better parking space."

"Parking space?" Zane dittoed back. Were parking spaces not for land vehicles? He was fairly certain that ships docked, not parked.

Cole's countenance broke into a grin and the boy rolled his eyes. "Don't worry about it. We'll wait until morning then pull up close to the town." He assured while throwing an arm around the taller boy's shoulders companionably. Zane smiled down at his friend, pleased to see the other in such high spirits again.

"Yo! You two love birds planning on helping me or what?" Jay called out irritably from where he was struggling to take apart the parts of the aperture Cole crammed together.

Zane's brow furrowed in bewilderment. "Or what? We are not birds..." Much of the other boy's request was nonsensical.

Cole bought his palm to his face and groaned in annoyance. "And we're not in love either." He pointed out making Zane's head bob though that claim did not seem as preposterous as the two being birds.

"Just get over here!" Jay barked. Zane was quick to join his friend's exploits to disassemble the flying machine but Cole took his time sauntering over to an exertion flushed Jay to assist the blue ninja with the tighter joints.

Zane peeked up from his work to see his hazel eyed friend properly agitated by the darker eyed boy's behavior but Cole just kept on a small self satisfied smirk in his close proximity to the flushed boy. Nya crouched next to Zane to watch the two young men as well while she busied her arms with folding up the kite's material. Her dark eyes fixated on Cole's twisting hands every time the earth ninja took apart two pipes her boyfriend could not. It certainly was a strange morning.

 

-

Lunch came around just in the nick of time because Lloyd was sure if time moved any slower, his stomach would eat itself out of confinement. The meal was nothing more than hastily formed sandwiches and celery but to Lloyd, it was a bonified feast. He kept reminding himself that it was growing up and training that made him so hungry but the sentiments did not really help against his secret worries. Still, nothing could keep the boy from clearing his plate... And several others along with it.

"Slow down Lloyd or you'll get a tummy ache." Nya chided the younger boy protectively.

"I'm more concerned about him choking." Zane put in and green eyes shot up to see everyone looking at him scarf down his third sandwich while the other warriors were still enjoying their first.

Lloyd blushed and swallowed before taking a slow bite from his celery stick for dramatic effect. Kai chuckled with Jay and Uncle Wu both smiling in good humor while the other three took on exasperated looks. "I'll be fine." He insisted when Cole rose a brow at his antics.

"It's our job to protect you Lloyd and I'll be damned if we lose you to a bologna sandwich." The dark ninja stated seriously. Lloyd did not see how the great ninja leader could possibly think bologna was serious business.

"Lloyd's not gonna get done in by a sandwich." Kai defended his younger lover who favored him with a close mouthed smile, cheeks full of food. "It's gonna be the celery. Everyone knows the vegetables are out for revenge ever since Lloyd Garmadon declared war on their existence!" Everyone laughed at that while Lloyd's smile disappeared with a childish whine. "Sorry bud," Kai did not sound very contrite.

Lloyd pouted once his mouth was empty again and shovelled more food on to his plate saying, "It's not my fault they're disgusting."

Nya brandished a green stalk for emphasis as she asked, "How can you call this disgusting? It's mostly water."

Jay agreed with his girlfriend easily, "Yeah. And it's green, just like you."

Lloyd glowered at the blue ninja's cheeky smile, proclaiming, "I know what colors are-"

The auburn haired boy cut him off. "Praise the Lord! He can be taught." He shouted dramatically.

Kai chuckled, "Wish the same could be said for you Mr. Lightningbolts."

Everyone laughed as Lloyd and Jay stewed in their aggravation. Lloyd just stuffed his mouth with another sandwich and resolved to let this one slide, at least until he came up with a means for proper reparations. He paced himself more, generally eating one bite at a time so as to not incur the wrath of the crew of the Bounty. He supposed celery was not so bad. It was not like brocolli or brussel sprouts which both tasted totally horrid. It was more like carrots, just a little terrible, not much.

Jay was ready to defend himself though rather than settling for an easy defeat this time. "It would have worked this time if you just would have let me show you. I know what went wrong last time."

Sensei fixed the rambunctious boy with a look and stern words. "I'm sorry Jay but I cannot allow you travel down this path. What would your parent's think if you got hurt chasing down a thunderhead for power? There is strength in each of you beyond that of elemental energy and I would appreciate it if you focused more on that."

His interest piqued, Kai perked up again. "Strength like what? New, even more awesome powers?"

Uncle Wu gave him a suffering look, "I cannot say what your inner strengths are any more than I can tell a seed what it will grow into."

"So in other words, you don't know?" Kai clarified disheartened.

Zane piped up with his own inane commentary. "Actually, one can normally tell what a seed will develope into by it's distinguishing characteristics." Lloyd rolled his eyes with a groan at the brief farming lesson. There had to be a way to turn the android off... Or at least mute him.

Uncle Wu seemed to have no such inclinations and merely disregarded the older blond's statement. "I do not need to know what lies ahead to know that greatness is in my path."

Kai groaned. "Will the cryptic riddles ever end?"

Nya shook her head. "Shouldn't you be used to it by now? You've been living with him longer than I have. At least we know you guys will have powers again without electrocuting yourselves."

"It could of worked." Jay grumbled again and his girlfriend threw a withering look at him. He huffed. "Eh, I'm done here." The blue ninja announced discarding his plate on the counter next to the sink. Lloyd watched him trudge out like a kid who just had his toy plane taken away for bad behavior.

Nya moved as though to stand but Uncle Wu beat her to it. "I will speak to him." The greyed man said, departing.

"And he left his plate out." Cole observed, standing to put both his and his sensei's plates away, and turned to Kai. The two ninja shared a terse nod before the black clad boy nudged the team nindroid and suggested, "You nearly done? I wanted to go over our tactics against the different Serpentine. I think we can improve them, make them more fool proof or something."

"Of course Cole." Zane agreed with a big smile splitting his face. Lloyd watched the two make their way out wondering if Zane really liked Cole. Maybe they could find a nice girl for the android while they were visiting.

"Nya, wait." Kai's voice pulled Lloyd out of his devious machinations.

The girl did as she was told and settled back into her seat, giving her brother a bored look. "What do you want Kai? I told Jay I'd help him check the ship's systems' interference from the storm." Her dark eyes were piercing over pursed lips. Lloyd was suddenly glad he had no siblings. Sisters did not look like much fun. They were too fussy. Maybe a brother would be better.

Kai's brown eyes locked with Lloyd's briefly, giving the younger ninja a meaningful look that he simply did not understand before turning back to his sister's darker gaze. "There's something I want to tell you." He took a deep breath and grasped one of Lloyd's hands in his own making the blond take in a sharp breath, alarmed. "I like Lloyd." He stated bluntly after all the suspense.

Nya gave a small breathy laugh shaking her head then she realized he was serious and her jaw dropped in shock. "You-" She blinked, searching for comprehension in her mind. She turned her dark eyes to Lloyd's crystal green ones. "You know about this... And you're okay with it?" Her voice was pitched with disbelief.

Lloyd squeezed his lover's hand for support and took and steadying breath before speaking. "Yes. I-" His eyes briefly darted to Kai's warm accepting ones before returning to his questioning sister. "I like him too." He had never spoken those words before. It seemed odd and wrong to admit such a thing.

Kai squeezed the boy's hand and green irises crept back to caring chocolate brown ones again. It felt as if his chest was shrinking and his heart had suddenly become claustrophobic and was pounding in panic to get out. It became hard to breathe, like the air was void of oxygen or something. Those intense eyes just held him captive, more than the snakes ever had.

"Lloyd, can I speak to my brother alone?" Nya interrupted making the blond give a start and turn back to her. She did not seem angry or disgusted. She was not even as shocked as the guys had been when they found out. Then again, Kai left out the detail about them having sex this time.

Lloyd nodded and stood but Kai caught his wrist in a firm hold. "Nya, we're together. Anything you say to me, I'll probably just end up telling him ten minutes later." He explained. The green ninja had to wonder if together meant like boyfriends or something else. Kai had never said he liked him before. Then there was that look... Was he over thinking things?

Nya sighed and smiled at the pair calmly. "This is different Kai. I want to talk to my brother, not him and his boyfriend. Okay?" Lloyd blushed at the girl's classification of their relationship. Sex did not count as dating, did it?

"It's okay. I need to go see sensei about my training anyway." He gave the siblings a shaky smile and rushed from the room, ignoring the red ninja's noisy attempts to keep him there.

He firmly shut the door to the kitchen area and fell back against it with his eyes clamped shut to try to compose himself. "That was a lot to take in so suddenly." The familiar voice made dilated emerald eyes fly open in fright.


	6. Chapter 6

Kai sent a tentative smile across the table to his sister. She looked troubled, about what he expected in this circumstance, and he was not even sure where to begin. It did not really matter because, like always, Nya knew exactly what she wanted to say long before he even sorted out his feelings.

"How could you? Lloyd! And you didn't even tell me. We used to be so close and you didn't tell me you liked him, let alone that you were dating." The corners of Kai's mouth quirked up a bit. He was relieved his sister was not really upset. He thought the whole 'liking boys' thing would throw her off more but maybe he dodged the bullet on that one.

"I like Lloyd and we're dating." He said with a joking severity. "Honestly, I thought you'd be more upset. Dad would of-"

"Dad's not here anymore. There's no telling what he would have done." Nya said sweetly, taking her brother's hand in both of hers and holding it loosely on the table. "All we can do now is live our lives cause you know he wouldn't of wanted us to stop just because he's not around. If this is how you choose to live it-" She let the words hang in silence. His words. They were the same as what he told her when their father disappeared, when he was afraid she would never be the same again.

Kai smiled and pulled his hand away from hers. "Not fair." He conceded. "You didn't tell me about Jay..." He whispered under his breath.

"Yes I did." Nya declared defensively.

"I know." The brunet groaned. "I just wanted to have something to call you out on. Why you gotta be so good all the time? Little miss perfect, who gets kidnapped and needs me to save her." Kai picked up a left over piece of celery to fiddle with so he did not have to look at the only person who was constant in his life.

Nya sighed, aggravated already. "That was just once." She reasoned like getting abducted by skeletons was normal. Well, it did seem to be turning out that way since they got tangled up with the ninja.

Chocolate eyes rose to meet ones hued like coffee without milk. "Oh yeah? And how about that time you twisted your ankle carrying pumice stone back to the shop? I had to physically carry you home that night."

"Okay, so that happened." Nya aknowledged.

"What about the time you-"

"Okay. Okay. You win. But this isn't about me. Why wouldn't you tell me? I thought I knew everything about you then I miss this huge part of your life." The girl's brows furrowed in disappointment over sadly downcast eyes. Her slumped shoulders could make anyone's heart ache. She looked broken. Too bad she used this tactic on Kai too much growing up. He was largely immune to the guilt trips now.

Still, it seemed he had not gotten of the hook for not coming out to his sister. "I should have told you I'm gay. I get it. I won't-"

"Gay!" She shrieked shrilly as an exposition to a great guffaw. "Come on Kai! Give me some credit. I'm your sister, of course I knew you were gay." Her laughter filled the room but instead of embarrassing the boy, it served more to annoy him endlessly.

"Yeah right. How'd you know." He snapped across the table.

Nya clicked her mouth shut with giggles still making her body bounce. Her hands were clamped over her laughter red face for a moment for her to stifle her humor. "I didn't know it was some big secret. You never showed interest to any girls back home then when you rescued me, you still kept following the ninja like a lost puppy. I thought I'd have to fight you for Jay at first then... I really thought you liked Cole. I mean you eat his food no matter how terrible it is and you never really make fun of him. You always did what he said without question and I mean he's-"

"He is the leader, Nya." Kai cut in severely. "With out him- with out the ninja- I might of never seen you again. Besides, Cole and Jay are straight. Obviously."

"But that doesn't mean you don't like them." Nya pointed out in the way only an annoying younger sibling could.

"I'm. With. Lloyd." Kai bit out in agitation.

"Because he was the only option."

Kai growled. "No. Because I love him. The others had their chance, now screw 'em. I've found the one I want to be with." Nya smiled but her eyes seemed sad. "What?" He huffed.

She shook her head with a smile that might as well have been a frown painted across her feminine features. "I'm sorry I took your first choice. I didn't think about it when I saw him. I just- I really like Jay."

Kai diffused seeing the unaldultered love cloaking his sister's glistening eyes. "Don't worry about it. I don't want him anyway. I got everything I want with Lloyd. And he likes me." Kai smiled. Lloyd and him had tread into dangerous territory today and come out unscathed. They loved each other and that was that. Contentedness over swept the fiery boy. He really had Lloyd.

-

"You have never spoken about your feelings before. It must be a lot for you to take in so suddenly." They clarified.

The blond young man relaxed against the door with a sigh. "How would you know?"

"I've watched you together." The older man explained though Lloyd already knew the answer.

"Why?" The green ninja questioned.

"I wanted to understand and feel what you feel." Zane confessed slowly like he did not quite understand the craving himself.

Lloyd's eyes explored the animatron's face. The older blond had no tells for Lloyd to identify. How could he possibly know what the ice ninja was talking about? "I thought you were going with Cole?" Lloyd asked hesitantly. Maybe Zane was malfunctioning. There was no way he was programmed to watch people go at it. That was just sick.

"Cole needed to use the facilities." Zane explained easily.

Lloyd tried to laugh but the noise got caught in his throat coming out as a stunted miserable thing. Realization walked up and slapped Lloyd across the face for being stupid. "You want to feel human right?" The other blond nodded eagerly. Lloyd smiled. "I think I've got an idea." The youngest ninja whispered conspiratorially. He felt a rush. The familiar itch to do something bad over came him. Lloyd grinned. "Come with me."

-

Lloyd lazily dragged his tongue over the slick hole grimacing at the bitter taste within. He burped drawing Zane's half lidded eyes to him.

"This shit is terrible! How does Jay drink this crap?" Lloyd tossed his empty off the side of the ship and leant down from his seat on the railing to grab another beer from the box resting on the deck.

Zane shrugged, examining his own beverage with interest before gulping down the rest and following Lloyd's example, dropping the bottle to the distant ground below. He watched the glass fall but it was too far to see the thing shatter. "I suppose the same way you do."

"Huh?" Lloyd's face scrunched up in confusion, not understanding why Zane had just said those particular words without any prompting.

Zane arched a brow at the younger man, grabbing another drink as well. "You asked me how Jay drinks these." The android shook his beer in front of the boy making the liquid slosh around inside. The ice ninja easily popped the top off of his bottle and took a swig, not seeming to care about the taste at all. "I must admit, I do feel different."

Lloyd chuckled unscrewing the cap of his own, taking a sip, and shaking the taste off. "Still tastes like crap." The boy asserted.

"I'm not sure what that tastes like." Zane said making a face at the idea.

Lloyd laughed. "It tastes like Cole's cooking!" He exclaimed before his uncontrollable laughter overtook him.

Zane chuckled. "I cannot say this tastes just like Cole's cooking but they do bear certain similarities. Makes me wonder why Jay complains so much when it's Cole's turn to make dinner, since he chooses to buy and drink this." Zane methodically drained his second bottle and threw the empty down with an excited smile. Maybe the android could see the things break on the ground.

Lloyd leaned over to watch but saw nothing. He leaned forward a bit more until a firm arm barred his way. "Wha?" He slurred slightly.

"You were about to fall." Zane explained.

Lloyd glared down at the ground far below as though it was at fault and felt the strong wind ruffle his hair. The storm was less than a hundred yards away. The ninja could see it like a wall of precipitation around the city. Thunder roared in the distance making the boy jump to sit up straight on the railing.

Zane laughed, well into his third beer. Lloyd stared at the other boy dumbly. He could almost be a normal guy like this. The boy could forget that his friend was a robot in essence. "That's it!" The green ninja proclaimed flailing his arms about with his excitement.

Zane chuckled, steadying the younger boy. "What's it?" He inquired with a big grin despite the fact the he dropped his beverage off the side of the ship only half empty.

Lloyd grasped the android's shirt with both hands and leaned forward just to make sure his friend heard his genius idea. "If we get ya drunk, you'll be normal!" The green ninja trembled with his excitement at the thought. Then Cole will definitely like Zane cause Zane would be normal, like them.

Zane looked confused still though. "Would being drunk not make me... Not normal?" Blue eyes looked off into the distance trying to figure out either his friend's reasoning or his own.

Lloyd leaned forward again, ready to explain. "I have ta pee." The boy announced instead. He forgot all about his marvelous plan in favor of swinging his feet onto the security of the slightly rocking deck. He pointed back to the android. "You- look good like this. Don't change a thing." He giggled and made his way downstairs to take a piss. The boy merely waved off the android's agreement.

-

Jay huffed in annoyance about being stood up by his girlfriend all day. It was not particularly difficult work checking how the systems reacted to the different barometric pressures, humidity levels, and the slight charge caused by a nearby storm. It just would have been nice to have someone to talk to while he worked. Some entertainment. Who was he kidding? He just really wanted to be near Nya. Some alone time would have been nice. Maybe he could have slipped in a kiss or two as well.

Now the pouting boy was trudging through the ship to perform his other duties of the day. Dinner duty. He paused, hearing voices through the walls of the ship. Laughter drew him into the kitchen like flies to the dump. He walked in on Kai and Nya giggling by the counter focused on whatever it was they were doing. On the table were a few plates and some celery, looking pretty wilted after being out the whole day.

"Have you guys been in here since lunch?" The blue ninja asked, flabbergasted by the idea.

"Oh hey Jay-"

Nya dropped what she was doing with wide eyes. "Oh shoot! I was supposed to meet you wasn't I? I'm sorry, I forgot." The girl looked really upset about standing him up today.

Her brother chuckled and nudged her. "You forgot. You forget everything." He mocked suggestively making Jay feel like he was missing something only the siblings knew.

"Shut up Kai!" Nya snapped, agitated.

"It's okay." Jay assured her. "It was just boring ship stuff anyway."

Nya flashed Jay a sweet smiled and approached him with an alluring sway to her hips that was barely perceptible. "But I love working on the ship with you." She said, leering up at him through thick lashes with her big brown eyes. She was just so pretty, almost like a geisha but real.

The auburn haired boy was caught off gaurd as his girlfriend locked lips with him. They did not ordinarily kiss in front of the others, certainly not Kai. But Jay was not one to argue against kisses. His hands found her waist and he angled his head for more delicious surface contact between the two before the black haired girl broke it off.

"I'm sorry I missed it." She murmured. Hazel eyes followed the girl's as they separated.

Positively captivated, Jay had to clear his throat to respond. "Me too." He piped up weakly. Nya breathed out a small laugh with a small blush dusted cutely across her cheeks.

"Okay kids, break it up! That's enough of the PDA for now so cut it out before I barf in the wok." Jay gave a start when Kai popped their little love bubble. He really forgot the other ninja was in the room still. The sexy samurai gave him a smirk and brushed a quick kiss across his lips before turning and returning to her brother's side.

Jay followed along and wrapped his arms around the unsuspecting girl's middle nestling his chin on her shoulder comfortably to get a look at what the siblings were doing when he walked in. Spread across the counter were a multitude of uniformly chopped vegetables, a dozen different spices, some that Jay did not even recognize, and the basic utensils one used for cooking.

The fire ninja added some more vegetables to the pan on the fire. The two worked well in unison. Nya would prep the bite sized morsels with proper seasoning and pass them on to her brother to get lightly sautéed. For a moment, the blue ninja was content to just stand there watching the two but soon remembered that he was supposed to be cooking tonight.

"Anything I can do?" Jay asked feeling out of place.

Nya turned back to him and winked. "You can go set up the table for dinner. Then you can help me makes the sauces." Even if he wanted to argue, her gorgeous bright smile would have held the words in his throat. The enamored boy wound up just nodding with a sound of acquiescence and went about doing as he was told.

 

-

 

Wu limbered up his tight joints after sitting cross legged for so long. His body was so resistent to change after such a long period of stillness. As much as he would deny it, time really was not his friend. It was an ever changing force that he would never fight against but much of what it accomplished was not for the man's own good. Everyday, Wu was faced with the burdens and joys of time.

Lloyd was the evidence of both. The boy- no- the man was growing and changing faster than Wu had ever seen anyone do so. The old warrior was not sure if all of the recent developments could be contributed to being doused with the Tomorrow Tea. He had never heard of such a case but what troubled the wizened man the most about his nephew had nothing to do with magic.

Across the hall, coming down from the steps to the uppermost deck was Lloyd with Zane, both not entirely sure on their feet. The younger blond smiled and gave his uncle an unecessarily enthusiastic wave in greeting. That was what troubled the man. That smile, the way the boy's cheeks curved, and those twinkling green eyes. They were all features passed down from the boy's parents.

Every time his nephew smiled, the old man only felt his heart ache with want. Within Lloyd was his brother and... Lloyd's mother. Two people Wu longed to see again though he could not seek out. Sometimes, the youngster would smirk like his father did as a young adult but others, he would grin in a way that made Wu feel like a child looking at his brother before... Those eyes just served to spur the fruitless illusion on. Then there were smaller smiles the boy would let slip when he was trying not to laugh that were just like ones Misako once wore. Wu wondered if his friends ever used those cherished expressions anymore. Wu did not dwell on the yearning of his heart. Instead, he directed a smile of his own to his clearly intoxicated nephew. It did not require much thought to deduce which ninja had suggested their behavior.

"Good evening Lloyd, Zane," the man acknowledged when the two young ninja approached him, clearly trying to hide their not quite sober state. Their intoxication was not too bad. The two were not so drunk that it was obvious but they smelt as though they had rolled around in puddles of alcohol before coming down for dinner. Wu was thankful the slighty unsteady ninja would be eating soon and decided not to comment on their drinking.

Lloyd grinned, just like his father might have after getting some sake into him. "Hey Uncle Wuw, you goin' on our date t'morrow? Ha date! It's not our date, it's Cole's date. You takin' Cole on his date t'morrow?" The young blond's brows creased as the boy tried to decipher his own question.

Zane just laughed. "I think he wants to know if you will be uh-comp-an-nying us to meet Cole's girlfriend." They were definitely drunk. The white ninja seemed to be having difficulties with any words that contained more than one syllable.

Wu just shook his head obligingly. "I'm afraid not. I've been tired lately and would appreciate the quiet." The two young ninja looked disappointed but their momentary let down was nothing in the face of their loopy state. "Ah, Cole. Just the ninja we were talking about." Wu greeted the rather troubled looking boy. Cole had always had a more distant personality when compared to the rest of his pupils. Even the years of people watching left Wu often wondering what might be taking place behind those focused eyes.

Cole's lips quirked into one of the boy's not quite a smile but still positive enough to be friendly expressions. Something certainly was bothering the Asian boy. "Hey Sensei, what's up?" Dark eyes flicked pointedly towards the kitchen before the boy's black brows drew down in consternation.

"I was just telling your brothers that I will not be accompanying you tomorrow. I hope this is not a problem." Wu leaned forward a bit trying to figure out why the black ninja looked so distracted.

Cole blinked and turned back to the old master. "What? Oh- Really? That's- too bad." Wu felt slightly let down that the young man was excited about his absence but he shoved the emotion aside, knowing it was his choice not to visit with the young adults. Cole's face scrunched up again. "What's that smell? Is it coming from the kitchen?" Of course the boy's heightened senses would have caught wind of the scent but Cole was not quite as experienced as his elder in placing its origin.

"I'm afraid not," Wu sighed with a glance at his rosy cheeked nephew.

"Then what is it?" Cole asked with his furrowed brow evening out as his training began to kick in. Wu was proud of the boy's progress, he had been a very focused student before Jay came into the monastery. Still, the black ninja's hard work paid off. He was a well honed warrior with a good head on his shoulders.

"What's what?" Lloyd giggled earning himself a calculating look from the earth ninja. The door to the kitchen swung open and Nya bounded out nearly colliding with Zane in the process. "Wha-! Zane? Oh good you guys are all here. Dinners ready. Come on."

Cole sniffed the air from the kitchen with a barely perceptible smile. "Now that's what I'm talking about. Smells good Nya." He complimented with a smirk and followed the young woman back into the kitchen.

Lloyd chuckled and nudged Wu before frowning and turning to poke at Zane instead who also seemed to not understand the cause of the boy's actions. "See? What I'd tell ya? This is totally gonna work." The green ninja declared striding forward into the eating area. The white ninja looked perplexed but followed along anyway with a much more relaxed gait than usual. Perhaps their experimentation might serve a purpose. Wu could remember many of his grandfather's lessons that his father did not allow his sons to be a part of.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is intense.... Yeah. Just, be warned there is danger. And smut.

Five young men laid down for the night, each in their own bunks. In less than an hour, one had disappeared. Another slipped out of bed just after the first. The third, curious about where his friends were off to at such an hour tagged along. At least the other two stayed in bed throughout the night.

The storm raged strongly in the small suburb of Ninjago City. Lightning briefly illuminated a young woman's room in the stark contrast of black and white before fading just as abruptly back into the cool deep blue tones cast by the odd glow of street lights through the night time storm. Thunder rolled menacingly against the earth outside stirring the young woman from her tender grasp on slumber.

Aqua eyes eyes peeked groggily between lashes after being squished by obstinately clenched lids. McKaila pulled a few stray strands of wavy red hair from her mouth with a frown twisting her disgusted smacking lips. It was not morning yet. She could feel it. She closed her eyes again and tried to slip back to sleep but something kept her up. It was not a disturbing sensation but something was amiss.

She swung up into a sitting position with a groan and combed her fingers through her tangled hair in frustration. Her head swung around sharply but nothing was out of place in her shadowed room. Her door and window were still closed. Dresser and chair still in place. Everything undisturbed. McKaila let out a relieved breath and fell back to her bed.

She he closed her eyes and made another attempt at sleep. It started small but soon a slithering feeling crept up her lower half through her sheets making her flinch. Thwack! Her hand hit the plush comforter on her mattress but nothing odd that might make her skin crawl like that. Her eyes sprung open and her chest constricted at the sight of a big shadow lurking over her bed. Her mouth dropped open but her scream never escaped regardless of the gloved hand that was cupped around it to muffled her panicked cries.

"You know, I could have killed you so many times by now McKay." The man spoke quietly and endearingly as he removed his wet palm from her face.

The red head clutched his damp arm with both of her hands in surprise. "Cole? Oh my God. Is it really you?" Fleeting thoughts of this being some strange dream drifted in the corners of the girl's mind but mostly McKaila felt the surge of excitement about having her old friend back in her life after almost four long years.

The shadowy figure's hood peeled off to expose Cole's smirking face. Black hair was matted to his face. He had grown out of his more boyish features but it was still definitely Cole. "Hey McKay," The ninja greeted with a small smile. "You really need new locks on your window. Just a safety pin slipped-"

"What on Earth are you doing here in the middle of the night in the rain." Lightning struck nearby punctuated by the loud roar of thunder. "And the thunder!" She added in a muted yell. Her old friend made a humored face at that. "What?"

"I'm more worried about the lightning than the thunder." He joked.

"Why are you here Cole?" McKaila demanded with a warning tone. Her aqua eyes skimmed over her friend's shrouded body. He seemed bulkier than the last time she saw him. She briefly wondered what all the ninja training might have changed about her friend. Breaking into her house was a Cole thing, of that she was sure.

Cole crossed his arms. "I need you to do something for me, McKay." He announced vaguely.

"And it couldn't wait till morning?" She inquired irritably. It suddenly occurred to her that a ninja was in her room in the middle of the night whether or not she knew him. Her stomach turned at the thought of what her friend might want at such a late hour. Cole was not like that she kept firmly in her mind but the fact remained that she had not seen the boy for years.

Cole frowned a bit making McKaila's internal organs sink at that expression. "That's just it McKay, I need the favor for the morning. So I came to let you know now."

"Ever planning on letting me know what IT is so I can go back to sleep some time tonight?" She snapped quietly, losing her patience with the ninja already. Cole always did have a way about him. "By the way, ever heard of a phone?" She threw out, angry that the boy's first thought was to break into her house.

Cole flinched at her tone so minutely she may have missed it if she was not looking for it. "I couldn't risk the others finding out. This might sound crazy but I need you to pretend to break up with me tomorrow." The boy suddenly looked uncertain and McKaila was reminded of her childhood friend. How could she even think Cole was after anything improper calling on her at midnight?

Still, the request was odd and left the red headed girl flabbergasted. "Wait what?" Maybe she really was just having some odd dream. "You want me to pretend to break up with you tomorrow? When did we start dating?" She tried to shake the sleep from her head but her thoughts still felt muddled and unreal.

"We aren't but I need you to dump me so my friends don't know I'm gay."

"Not this again." McKaila groaned, falling back to her bed. "Why don't you just get a real girlfriend so she can break up with you? I can't do it Cole."

"Please McKay! I'll do anything. It's just for one day. My friends will come over, meet you, have some tea, then you get mad at me and dump me and kick us out and it's all over." He explained earnestly making the young woman feel even more guilty.

She covered her face with her hands so she would not have to see his pleading dark eyes. "I can't Cole. I- can't." She couldn't even say the words, unsure of what the boy would think after such a long time gone.

"Please. It's just one day!" He begged.

"I'm engaged," McKaila blurted out. Cole backed off looking as though she slapped him when aqua eyes peeked through her spread fingers. "I'm sorry Cole but if anyone found out I'd be in so much trouble. I couldn't. He'd-"

Dark eyes blinked in the dim light. "To who?" He asked, incredulous.

"Bryar Sills."

Recognition bloomed on the Asian boy's face at the name but the expression was just as she had predicted. Hurt, skepticism. Cole remembered the other man. "You're with Bryar?" He scoffed. Cole definitely remembered. "You-" He sighed, looking defeated. "I wish you both the best." The boy slipped on mask of stoicism so well the young woman could not even see the seam.

McKaila could feel the handle of the knife she had just plunged into her friend's back imbedded in her palm. Cole did not say it but it was painted all across the boy's face when he found out. How could she? Anyone would have been better than him. Why Bryar? She was not sure if it felt any better with him hiding his emotions like that. "He's changed." She defended against the unspoken words but all her efforts earned her was a tight smile from her friend. "He's kinder. He would never- he's out of town." Revelation crept up on the girl.

McKaila might be engaged to Cole's worst enemy but at least she could try to make it up to the boy. The only thing that didn't make sense to her was why Cole was still trying to hide his sexuality from the other ninja. She could not imagine what Cole's new friends were like if the dark haired boy did not even want them to know he liked boys. She suddenly felt very nervous. What would a bunch of ninjas do if they caught her lying to them? She had seen them on TV before. They were exceptional. She had only ever seen them fighting for good but what if they decided to attack her? The only thing McKaila knew for sure was that she was going to have a very difficult time getting back to sleep tonight regardless of the crappy weather.

-

Jay did not know why, but he lucked out tonight. Cole, the ninja that might as well be a robot, was missing so it left the lightning ninja with ample opportunity to escape his bunk. The blue ninja was glad he did not bother with clothes when he reached the outer deck. The air was heavy with the high humidity from the nearby rain. He could already feel the dampness on his shoulders and the slick feeling the water gave his equipment.

Hazel eyes looked out to the storm and the ninja could feel his stomach turning with his anxiety. He could hear all the what ifs buzzing in his head. This stunt very well could kill him but realistically, what good was he against Lord Garmadon like this? If they wanted even a chance, they needed more power than what Lloyd could handle. Sure, the boy was getting better but he was still no match for his father. The four of them could not beat Garmadon at his peak and Lloyd was not nearly as strong as the four of them together. The blue ninja gazed out at the stormy sky wondering if this would be the last sight he saw. He would be no help if he died. Random bolts illuminated the dark clouds menacingly making the boy's heart race.

Jay turned from the sight. No use psyching himself out early. He dropped the supplies onto the deck and started assembling his creation. He had somewhat anticipated resistance to his plan and thus prepared for it accordingly. Sensei Wu had to look out for them. He was the elder but the ninja were the ones responsible for rebuilding peace in Ninjago. Jay would do his part.

The contraption came together securely under the inventor's guidance. He smoothed out the fabric over the reinforced structure reverently. If growing up in a junkyard had taught Jay anything, it was resourcefulness. He did not need a line for his kite. He had all he needed right here.

Jay stood with the flying machine in his sweaty palm and turned towards the storm. He dropped the contraption upside down on the deck so the wind was less likely to pick it up and approached the railing overlooking the city.

Nothing on the ground moved but Jay's eyes still darted around to the erratic cadence of the random lightning strikes. It was unsettling to know he would be in the dead center of that storm soon. Closer. He had to get the Destiny's Bounty closer if he was going to make it into the cloud cover with out plummeting to his death first. With the new purpose driving his suddenly very stupid legs on, Jay pushed away from the edge and rushed to the fore deck steering before skidding uncertainly when he remembered the whole craft was anchored currently.

"Can't drive with the brakes Jay." He chided himself thinking of his dad's so called driving lessons in the process. Sensei was worried that Jay might hurt himself. The auburn haired boy could only imagine what his mom would do if she knew what he was going through with. The woman sure could coddle when she put her mind to it, he mused as the blue ninja worked the wet chain of the anchor up methodically. Jay was glad for all the training cause this shit was heavy. No wonder Cole was so eager to hoist the thing so often. Freakin masochist. The guy always was a little too obsessed with his training.

Jay turned back to the storm with a shiver. Well, maybe not. They all had their ways of more or less obsessing over their powers. Jay had really suspected Kai might combust whether or not the boy discovered his true potential just because of how wound up the fiery ninja got when his friends unleashed such incredible elemental power before him. Cole never seemed to turn off when it came to ninja stuff. Jay remembered too well what it was like at the monastary before Kai showed up. Even when the red ninja had just joined them, Jay felt kind of out of place. The slacker. The buffoon.

Jay took the wheel and easily guided the ship closer to the storm. He could feel the familiar surge of his elemental power even with his distance from the storm. This had to work. The boy could feel such kinship to the electrical charge. It was an odd feeling even after the sensation of his body naturally conducting vast amounts of lightning. Jay wanted that again. He had to get that rush of elemental power back somehow. He could feel in his body that there had to be a way to control it without the nunchucks. Jay knew there was a way.

Now close enough to the storm for the inventor's plan, Jay ran back across the slippery deck to drop the anchor again. It did not matter that he moved the ship. Sensei Wu would know what Jay had done in the middle of the night one way or another. The lightning ninja would either regain his elemental powers or... Not. There was no going back.

Jay turned back to his invention feeling his guts squirm disconcertingly in anticipation. When he made his kite it was all excitement but now Jay could feel the gravity of the situation. The reality weighed the blue ninja down. His feet felt like they were made of lead as he trudged determinedly back to his flying machine.

The auburn haired boy smoothed his palms against the soaked metal frame of the kite and took a deep breath feeling like he was just drinking in the humidity from the storm rather than breathing air. It was now or never. Jay hefted the contraption onto his back and fastened the extra clasps of the glider onto his body. Sensei Wu might have taken away Jay's means of bringing the electricity to him but that would not stop the inventor from venturing into the storm himself. The wind pulled at the large sails on the boy's back but Jay kept a firm footing on the deck making his way to the railing. The glider's straps dug into the ninja's shoulders and chest as the wind tried to rip his invention from his back by force. Big drops of water stung against Jay's bare face from the sheer force of the storm. Lightning loomed ominously in the distance dragging earth shaking thunder in it's wake. Jay just stood before it all, taking in the sight with nothing but his eyes trembling at the sight.

The lightning ninja mounted the slick railing with a firm grasp on his wooden perch so the wind would not pick him up before he was ready. Heart pounding, his chest heaved with each breath that came to him as nothing more than a shaky pant. This was it. "Jay!" Jay could hear the storm calling his name on the wind. He shuddered but stood resolute. It was time to regain his elemental powers. He released his grip on the ancient wood, standing to his full height and jumping, quickly swept out further into the storm.

"Jay!" The yell was louder this time, closer now that the blue ninja was within the storm. The odd weightless sensation of flight overtook his body, the only grounding feeling the clasps and straps that bound him to his flying machine. He was only free, weightless, and careless for a moment though. "JAY!" The lightning ninja could not say whether the it was the recognition of Zane's voice or the added weight of the nindroid that startled him more but now that Zane was there, he did not really think that mattered much.

"Zane?! What the hell man? Get off! I need to get my elemental powers back." Jay explained loudly enough that the blond with his arms wrapped around his waist could hear him.

Zane's words were muffled a bit into his brother's back but they still reached Jay's ears unbroken. "But if you continue in this course of action you have a twenty-seven percent chance of instantaneous fatality and an eighty-three percent chance of serious injury! I cannot allow you to injure yourself."

Jay struggled against his captor somehow feeling enclosed while flying through the air. "Zane- Let GO!" He yelled back at his friend, kicking against the stronger ninja and feeling the android's hold weaken. Jay jerked one arm back sharply to nail his electronic brother in the head with an elbow and Zane slipped from his waist making the lightning ninja feel near weightless for a moment before the ice ninja got a hold on some part of the kite strapped to the blue clad boy's back. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Shit!" Jay screamed as the whole machine dipped back leaving hazel eyes to bulge at a terrifying sight of the massive thunderstorm spinning over head. What frightened him the most though was how quickly he could feel the whole flier dropping altitude. They would be ninja pancakes by morning and not the good kind!

The menacing clouds overhead threw out huge sparks of lightning all around the plummeting device and thunder deafened the auburn haired teen from all around. Time seemed to move slower and slower as the kite on his back shook in its fall and the clouds flew too quickly away far above him. "ZAAAANE!" He screamed with tears streaming out of his squeezed shut eyes as a bright white light blinded him even through his lids.

His body seized and the rush of wind disappeared. He never felt his hot tears mix with the rain drops on his face and cool. Jay could not even feel the contraption beneath him shatter into an unusable mess as the whole thing came crashing into the earth far beneath the Destiny's Bounty. His ears were deafened to the crack of thunder and the crash of the machine onto the ground as he made impact with each. Even with eyes wide open, all Jay could see was darkness. For a while there was nothing...

Slowly heat spread sparingly about his body. His face, his chest, his pants. Breath came back to the lightning ninja in broken painful gasps. But nothingness was all he saw. Shaking, feeling pain in every charged nerve of his body, Jay clenched and unclenched his fists knowing his grip would not even be able to lift a glass just by feeling.

He brought his hands to his face first, feeling that everything was more or less accounted for even his eyes which he noted hurt when he touched them but felt normal to his numbed fingers. With each touch he reminded himself what each piece was: eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, chin. With trembling fingers the inventor deduced that the warmth was merely tears.

Next Jay felt around the pain and heat of his chest feeling something sticky. Must be blood. It was gathered mostly around joints and belts Jay vaguely remembered from before the crash. He clumsily pulled them off, breathing easier once they were released. He could feel the cool rain washing away his hot blood.

Jay blinked blindly up at the sky. Somehow he had retained no serious injuries. His powers! Jay concentrated but felt nothing, just the same pain from the fall and the rain still pelting him mercilessly. All that and it did not even work. Sensei was right. Jay felt more tears welling up in his eyes knowing the pain was for nothing and finally accepting that he might just be useless against Garmadon.

The auburn haired boy groaned as white slowly overtook his vision. It was worse than climbing out of the dark trailer at midday back at home. His vision went from pitch black emptiness to light of the same ferocity as the Sun. He whined as the brightness seared his vision once more. Slowly the light began to dim and ebbed into moving shadows and impressions of the world.

Jay rocked on his broken machine and stumbled onto his hands and knees, his chest heaving with the exertion. He could vaguely make out the tattered remains of all his hard work in the darkness. The inventor could remember each piece as he discerned what was what in the rubble. The lightning ninja could remember how each joint and bolt fit together to make the large kite. He could not remember the gold wires that peeked out from beneath the contraption though.

Gritting his teeth and grunting, Jay pushed the machine over so he could see and memories flooded his mind faster than the raging storm. "Zane," He breathed feeling more tears stream down his face cutting through the water freshly fallen from above. What he thought was a frayed wire was really his brother's mud soaked hair but there were circuits exposed where his friend's body was crushed beneath the combined weight of Jay and his glider.

Jay scuttled closer, collapsing weakly onto the blond's chest before forcing his exhausted body back up to better examine the unconscious ninja. Putting his wet hand to the muddy man's face showed Jay that his friend was not breathing. Jay pushed roughly at his friend's chest ignoring the pain in his desperation before taking a deep breath and bending down to Zane's face to share it with the other boy. Jay cried out during more chest compressions as his arms spasmed and breathed into the other again, breaking down to cry with his face pressed against the boy's beneath his. Not thinking, Jay pressed his lips to Zane's again before sitting up and pathetically nudging the nindroid's chest as he sobbed.

Unsteady hazel eyes widened. Nindroid. Zane was an android! If anyone could fix the big lug it was Jay. The inventor clumsily wiped his face, not really accomplishing anything because the relentless rain had soaked everything and now his arms were all muddy. With his mind set, Jay tore away Zane's shirt and felt along the cold soft synthetic skin of the nindroid's chest to find the compartment housed there.

The hinges swung open easily and Jay hunched over his friend to block any more rain from puddling into the home of all of Zane's delicate circuits. In the nighttime dark Jay could hardly make out the various wires and switches but every so often the blinding brightness of lightning would illuminate everything of Zane's for Jay's focused eyes to take in.

The blue ninja's long fingers slid over the damp rubber casings of the wires gently. Jay did not want to damage his friend further but he knew he had to do something. Knuckles turned pale for a moment as Jay clenched his fists before the inventor sprang into action flipping switches and plugging and unplugging things left and right. Nothing. Jay did and undid everything presented to him but still his friend did not stir. "Come on- Come on!" Jay muttered determinedly before more tears began to fall from his eyes. "Come on damn it! This has gotta work. Something's gotta work. No, no, come on." Jay fell over his brother's exposed chest cavity and sobbed, unable to think of anything else.

He killed Zane. Zane was dead and it was all his fault! Jay's body jerked painfully as he sobbed but he did not care. Zane. Zane was- "No." Jay breathed out between sobs. "NO!" He shouted, slamming his palms against the intact portions of Zane's bare chest feeling a familiar surge of elemental power shoot through him as the nindroid's whole body jerked beneath him.

"Jay?" Zane ventured weakly.

Jay gaped at his friend and flipped Zane's maintenance compartment shut for safety before throwing himself over his brother again. "Zane, you're okay!"

Aforementioned ninja grunted. "That is- a matter of opinion." The nindroid tensed in pain as he sat up with Jay still sprawled out on top of him.

Giddy, Jay laughed. "But you're alive!" The blue ninja caught the white in a strong hug so true it could not possibly be mistaken for anything else. At first, Zane was confused, he just sat there processing. Then, when the human brother made no signs of intending to stop the embrace any time soon Zane wrapped his arms around his friend as well. Thunder shook the ground around them but nothing could have pulled Jay away from his friend in that moment.

-

Brown eyes peeked open and glanced at the three empty bunks. It looked like the guys were not planning on coming back any time soon. Jay and Zane had disappeared more than half an hour ago and Cole left before then. The fire ninja was left wondering if he had missed some surprise late night training exercise. He could not remember Sensei telling him to sneak out of bed tonight. He was positive he would remember something like that.

"Why do three ninja think they can sneak out of a room full of ninja in the middle of the night undetected?" Lloyd grumbled in his sheets making Kai smile a bit.

Kai slipped from his sheets, excited to hear that his lover was also awake. He crept towards the unsuspecting green ninja's bed and lunged. After grappling a bit in an uncomfortable tangle of limbs Kai straddled his boyfriend's waist and pinned his shoulders with a cheeky grin. "Dunno but at least now we've got the room all to ourselves. And it looks like the others won't be back anytime soon." Kai wiggled his hips suggestively on top of the blond boy.

MMM

"You're right." Lloyd smirked at his lover seductively before leaning up to coax Kai into a kiss. Of course, Kai would never hold back on kissing Lloyd but as the fire ninja leant down he felt a firm hold wrap around his waist and pull him off of the younger man to fall back head first into the bed. Lloyd released the hold his legs had on Kai's waist quickly and instead pounced on the red clad boy to spread his own body flush against the brunet's. "And here I almost thought you'd follow Jay again. Guess Zane can spy on him and Nya for you now." Lloyd sealed their lips together in a rushed movement that left Kai no time to even think.

The fire ninja's head spun. Lloyd took complete control of his mouth and body, hands snaking up Kai's toned abdomen to feel the heated skin there and mouth dominating every inch with exploratory flicks of the tongue that drove the pinned boy absolutely wild. The green ninja teased the other's tongue, keeping it restricted in the fire ninja's mouth with his own before pulling back to instead suck the other's lip into his mouth biting it lightly while sitting up.

When Kai's abused lip was released his brown eyes slipped shut and he tried to regain control on the heat searing his body. He could feel the teeth of the boy on top of him sinking into his neck leaving a pained tingle in their wake. Thoroughly feeling as though his lover was trying to devour him with all of the sucking and biting the younger boy was inflicting on his neck, the brunet moaned. Lloyd's hands rubbed firmly at the ab muscles built up there to grip Kai's sides, nails cutting angrily into the older ninja's skin. Kai's only complaint was in a breathy groan because Lloyd was igniting incredible burning friction, grinding against the groin of the boy beneath him.

Both men's bodies shook with the built up pleasure as Lloyd continued the motion through a few more desperate thrusts mouthing the fire ninja's neck all the while. The blond pulled away, ceasing all movement, with his hair sticking wildly in all directions and his teeth bared animalistically, panting through his nose mostly. "I'm fucking you tonight." Lloyd declared in a growl.

All Kai could do was stare at the green ninja. For once he could think of nothing to say. Kai loved nothing more than screwing the boy above him into tomorrow but he certainly did not want the delicious ravishing to stop. If the great green ninja wanted him on bottom, who was he to fight it? Kai sat up and threw his arms around Lloyd's still rather slim shoulders and parted the other's pink lips with his tongue for a kiss. He probed the other's mouth suggestively and swung a leg to hitch over Lloyd's hip and rut their crotches together in a clumsy act of forced pleasure. The two broke off the kiss to moan in unison panting each other's breath in such close proximity.

Lloyd pushed the red clad boy down with a hand on his clothed chest and brushed his knee against the fire ninja's crotch while climbing off the bed with a smirk. "Too much clothes Kai. Take them off." He ordered briskly, turning to rummage through a drawer in his dresser.

Kai did not waste a moment slipping off his red pajama top and bottoms. His eyes were mesmerized by the enticing lines of Lloyd's body. The younger boy was so alluringly slender with his appealing long legs and his wavy blond hair that just so happened to always flop in just the right way. It was not fair for one man to be that gorgeous. Kai got a good grip on himself and gave his little buddy a couple of preparatory pumps for good measure.

Lloyd turned back to the bed with that damnedable smirk and patented mischievous twinkle to his glittering green eyes so bright they almost seemed to glow in the dim lighting. The boy tossed a vial of oil onto the bed and made a bit of a show of slipping off his t shirt with his head cocked to the side exposing his pale delicious looking neck. Kai gulped and Lloyd untied his pants kicking them and his briefs off and climbing onto his lover all in the same movement.

Lloyd's fingers grabbed and tugged at Kai's hair as the two were engaged in another lip lock again with more teeth and dominating on the blond's side than Kai had ever experienced before. The older boy would be lying if he said this new bold side of his lover did not thoroughly excite him right down to his engorged throbbing- ahem, well Lloyd certainly did have him in the palm of his hand. Literally when the green ninja moved one hand from its hold of brown spiky locks to slowly tug at Kai's excited cock.

Kai was pushed onto his back again by Lloyd's forceful mouth. His breathing sounded hoarse to his own ears when the blond retreated to pick up the bottle of lube again. The cork came out with a small pop and Kai squirmed a bit trying to dispel the nerves in his stomach. Emerald eyes snapped intently to their lover's face as Lloyd poured a bit into his hand and closed the bottle before spreading it on his fingers and erection. "So I just kind of put a couple of fingers in and um..." All of the conviction was swept away in a bout of uncertainty as Lloyd's face suddenly adopted a nervous look.

The red ninja's head fell back onto the mattress with a groan as brown eyes rolled back into his head. So much for the mood. "Just-" Let me fuck you, he thought. Kai pulled his knees up and spread his legs to give his lover better access to what was going on down there. "Just put one in at a time and kind of spread them- slowly." He added hurriedly as he remembered how much rushing it had hurt his younger lover.

Lloyd's eyes travelled south for a view of their destination and the boy smoothed his dry hand over the sensetive inside of Kai's thigh as he bent his face close to Kai's private areas for a better look. The fire ninja blushed feeling like he was put out on display without his consent. The brunet cleared his throat bringing the boy's attention to his face for a moment before emerald eyes focused back in on their prize and Lloyd slipped the first cool finger into his lover and peered back up at Kai's face.

It felt odd definitely but it did not really hurt. Kai closed his eyes to take his mind off of the intrusion and relaxed back on Lloyd's bed regretting that the pillows were on the other side but knowing this would not take too long any way. Another finger poked in next to the first. This time the stretching sensation around them kind of hurt but if Lloyd could deal with it, so could Kai. The other hand drifted discreetly to his hip and the fingers pulled out a bit before Lloyd thrust them roughly back in. Kai gave a start, jerking as Lloyd hit something in him that made his toes curl in ecstasy. How the fuck was the brat so good at everything?

Kai panted, staring at the ceiling as the fingers in him spread out and pumped intermittently. "It's a lot easier to do shit after you've had it done to you so many times, huh?" Lloyd taunted brushing his fingers against that magical spot again before pulling them out completely. "This'll hurt too a little but it'll get better too, I swear." The green ninja promised earnestly.

Kai swallowed thickly and hooked his legs around Lloyd's pulling the boy on top closer. "What ever you say Lloyd." He was still anxious but it could not be so bad if Lloyd kept coming back for more. Right?

The blond inched closer over Kai's naked body and used his grip on the bottom boy's hip to nudge the tip of his penis into Kai's virgin hole. A sharp intake of breath drew Lloyd up short. "Fuck. Don't stop." Kai urged hating himself for acting like such a wuss. The green ninja nodded looking very serious about screwing Kai so the fire ninja just closed his eyes and ignored him. Lloyd could do this shit and so could he.

The pain only grew as the younger boy pushed further into him and it spread out too, beyond his ass to wreak havoc in other parts of his body. When Lloyd was fully sheathed in his lover the boy paused and moved his unoccupied hand to grip his lover's faltering erection. Kai blushed with his eyes clamped shut. This was embarrassing. Both being on bottom and losing his shit during sex. Lloyd pumped him softly and started pulling out leaving Kai with mixed feelings. It hurt but he definitely did not want to be weaker than Lloyd.

Without warning Lloyd shoved his cock back in and Kai's eyes sprung open but he refused to cry out. This shit really did hurt though. Lloyd stopped again with a small frown and brought his lips to Kai's ear. "Just trust me and relax. Let me do what I want okay?" He whispered and pressed a tender kiss to his lover's cheek rubbing at Kai's dick as though the motion would coax him into submission.

Lloyd pulled out again and thrust back in sharply making Kai hold in a whimper. Again and again Lloyd repeated the movement jerking at Kai's length sharply but the pain barely ebbed. With his grip at his lover's waist, Lloyd began to shift the angle of his dick and picked up the pace moaning, "Relax Kai. You're making this hurt. Fuck." Lloyd lifted his lover's hips and furrowed is brows in concentration thrusting in deep and brushing Kai's prostate in the process making his lover moan wantonly and feel a spike of pleasure through the pain. "There we go." Lloyd breathed, eyes trained on Kai's flushed face.

with every thrust Lloyd plunged deeper and harder into that incredible bundle of nerves bringing Kai closer to release with every movement. The fire ninja grabbed the edge of the bed to ground himself as his lover pounded into his body making him shudder and whimper with need. Lloyd threw his head back and moaned loudly, not slowing or diminishing his pace in any way, always plowing into Kai harder and faster. The brunet's body tensed in exertion but his brown eyes found their way back to focus on Lloyd.

The blond's body glistened with a sheen of sweat. His dilated eyes were glued to Kai's blushing face but there was no condescending smirk to be found, in fact, Lloyd just looked very focused, determined, as he barreled into Kai's sensitive spot. His lean body was flexed in all the right places as his muscles worked on Kai.

The brunet moaned in appreciation and Lloyd smiled, grabbing the older boy's cock and pumping him to the rhythm as best he could. The fire ninja's head fell back again and his back arched letting out a groan, loving every bit of what Lloyd was doing to him.

"Yeah like that." The green ninja murmured appreciatively. "That body- so fucking tight. Shit." The boy mumbled some more but Kai could not make it out. It did not sound positive. Lloyd picked up the pace on Kai's erection and plunged as deep as possible into the body beneath him, grinding almost painfully into his lover's sweet spot. Kai let out a drawn out moan as his orgasm was thrust upon him and felt Lloyd's hot ejaculation deep inside of him as the blond panted over him. "Fuck. Sorry. Just so tight." He released his tight grip on Kai's spent penis and laid his face down on the fire ninja's sweaty chest.

mmm

Kai swallowed to moisten up his throat again, laying a hand on his younger lover's head, ruffling his hair. "About what exactly?" He asked feeling utterly wasted.

"I suck at this." Lloyd whined and Kai laughed. The green ninja looked up to pout at his lover but it did not help, Kai just kept on laughing. Eventually the fire ninja just knocked his lover limbs from under him tired of having Lloyd hover over him on hands and knees and laughed with Lloyd's bare body splayed out on top of his own. If this was Lloyd sucking at sex, he could not wait until the boy got better at it. And he would. Golden boy Lloyd was master of all things.


	8. Chapter 8

Lloyd decided he was either finally coming into his own as a ninja, or the others were all just completely wiped out from last night's escapades. When the young blond man had awoken, his four roommates were still fast asleep. Kai had his sheets tossed aside with just his pajama bottoms on exposing last night's love bites to any one who cared to look. Lloyd smirked with slight shake of his head at the memories of the night before. Kai must have gotten overheated in the night, the complete opposite of Zane. The nindroid was basically buried under his blankets and completely obscured from prying eyes. Cole slept peacefully with towels scattered all around his bed, conjuring inappropriate thoughts in the boy's mind about what his leader might have been up to last night. Green eyes widened when they rose up to see the final ninja's bunk. Jay was sprawled out like normal but there were several dark patches on his blanket and his nightshirt. There was even a smear of dried blood on his neck.

Alarmed, Lloyd silently stalked up to the blue ninja's bed, climbed up to his bunk, and firmly pressed his palm against the slumbering boy's mouth. Hazel eyes sprang open and Jay gave a start with a muffled noise but when he realized he was in no danger, he carefully removed the younger boy's hand from his face. "What happened to you last night?" Lloyd inquired with a gesture at the blood all over his friend's bed.

Jay groaned with fingers pressed to his eyelids for a moment before becoming alert and glancing at the other three still sleeping ninjas and relaxing with a slight sigh. "I might have miscalculated." The blue ninja declared with his eyes locked on Zane still sleeping beneath them. The hazel lenses were trembling as though he was trying to see all of the nindroid at once even though the ice ninja was covered from head to toe. Lloyd glanced back down at the bundled up blond and opened his mouth to speak but Jay forestalled him. "Lloyd, please do me a favor and keep Sensei Wu and Nya distracted while I clean all this up. Please, we'll come to breakfast as soon as I finish."

Lloyd bit his lip with narrowed eyes but nodded regardless. "Sure thing Jay, but you are going to tell me what happened or else." He let the threat hang between them as he pulled away from Jay's bunk. Once he toed on a pair of plush green slippers, he padded quietly out of the ninjas' room.

The old boards of the ship's halls creaked beneath his feet making the ninja in training wince knowing his friends could move silently here. His skin crawled with that thought. Anyone could have seen him and Kai last night if the hole was still there. Still, someone could have listened to them without his knowing. And then there was that strange feeling afterward. The green ninja paused and spared a quick glance over his shoulder before doubling his pace. There was no one there.

Lloyd drew up short with a start when he stepped into the kitchen area. "U-Uncle Wu!" He barked with a blush.

The old man smiled at his nephew while pouring himself a cup of tea at the table. "Good morning Lloyd. I was getting a bit worried that you all overslept so much but I must admit the weather disturbed my sleep as well." Uncle Wu murmured tiredly before sipping his beverage.

Lloyd blinked, not comprehending. "The w- yeah. Man, the noise was horrible. I kept tossing and turning all night." He fibbed. He looked around the room with a slight frown. "Where's Nya?" He asked.

Uncle Wu closed his eyes, savoring the taste of his morning tea. "She may have had a long night as well. The storm is still lingering a bit this morning. I anticipate the others may be joining us shortly." The elderly man set the fine mug down carefully as his long mustaches lifted in a smile. "How would you like to help me prepare breakfast dear nephew?"

-

Cole moaned and pulled his pillow down harder over his head when hushed voices and quiet shuffles roused him from his slumber. The earth ninja still felt clammy from being out in the rain so long last night. He took a deep breath to prepare himself for the onslaught and sat up with bleary eyes.

Jay and Zane were busy having some weird early morning private conversation while Kai busied himself with pulling on a pair of jeans. The fire ninja was still shirtless and sported a wide variety of bruises that were shaped suspiciously like the green ninja's mouth. Where was Lloyd anyway?

Kai turned back to the dark featured boy. "I dunno. He was gone when I woke up."

Cole rubbed his eyes before refocusing on his dressing brother, realizing that he must have been thinking out loud on accident. "How much of that did you hear?" He asked hesitantly, hoping beyond reason that he had not narrated the path his eyes took down Kai's toned body and how je- No. Just hoping he had not told Kai what he suspected the man did with the youngest ninja.

Kai looked puzzled. "How much of what did I hear? You awake dude?... Long night huh?" Kai added belatedly.

Cole perked up at that. Of course the others would know he snuck out last night. Were those bruises that fresh? They certainly looked like they were. But how had Jay and Zane slept through the mischief? A sharp smell that did not belong in the boys' room regularly assaulted Cole's senses but he could not place it. The black ninja did know another lingering along with it. "Did someone hurt them self last night?" Blood. That was definitely the smell of blood, sex, and just something else Cole could not quite place in the mix. Man their room smelled like men.

"Blood?" Zane leaned closer into Cole and Kai's conversation. "I do not detect any excessive blood, Cole. Perhaps your nose is playing tricks on you."

"Yeah, maybe you're the one who's bleeding Mr. Sneaky!" Jay butted in defensively.

Dark eyes narrowed at the blue ninja before last night came back to Cole. When he snuck back in, it was quiet, too quiet. Jay was not in the room when Cole finally went to sleep. Cole had been so careful but... Was he followed? That still would not explain the blood unless Jay- Jay would not attack McKaila.

Cole shook the crazies from his head. Jay was definitely the one bleeding here but he was clearly okay or he would be whining. Cole decided to dismiss it. "Look, if I stayed in bed last night, you stayed in bed last night. I think that sounds pretty fair. Do we have a deal?"

Zane's brow furrowed and Kai fingered the collar of his turtleneck shirt, no doubt thinking about the hickeys it concealed. Jay frowned at the black ninja though before snorting. "Yeah, I guess that's fair. We won't say anything if you don't say anything."

Zane frowned at the blue ninja's words. "Say anything about what?" He asked nervously. Or maybe he just asked, sometimes it could be hard to tell with the nindroid.

Jay rose his brows at the blond. "Last night. We won't talk about what happened last night." He said deliberately.

Kai shrugged seeming uncomfortable, not meeting the others' eyes. "I didn't see or hear anything last night." He confirmed before heading out the door standing tall. Cole smirked. Of course Kai would not want Sensei Wu to know what he was doing to the man's nephew late at night.

They all had something to hide. Well, all except Zane that is. Cole eyed the nindroid warily. He felt mildly ashamed at wishing the white ninja would mess up just to make sure he had leverage against everyone. Zane was just pulling on his shoes and it looked like he was wincing occasionally. Maybe he did have something to hide.

The last three ninja went to the kitchen together finding the others gathered around some really delicious jelly rolls that Cole knew Sensei Wu was responsible for. The old master was the only one not hanging around the kitchen when Cole came in though. Nya was in her nice dress but Cole could see she would probably put on makeup before their outing today. Next to her, all dressed up with her hair already done, Lloyd looked disheveled still in his pajamas with his hair sticking up wildly. The boy was like the poster child for morning after awesome sex except apparently Kai was not much of a biter.

Cole paused while reaching for a jelly roll but snatched it up before anyone could sense his hesitation. With Lloyd at his left, the ninja leader had a perfect view of the other three male warriors at the table. Dark eyes blinked a couple of times just to make sure the teenager was not imagining things but it was still there. Jay, Zane, and Kai were all already dressed for the day and if that was not strange enough, they were all dressed like it was the middle of winter. Zane and Kai wore turtlenecks while Jay had on a coat and a scarf. It was bizarre for them to even be dressed this early but their clothes screamed that something was up. Did Jay and Nya- But what about Zane?

"You should definitely get her some flowers."

Cole did not register the words at all. His thoughts were still buzzing around what Zane might be trying to hide. Jay and Zane? It was crazy, but then again, so were they.

"Cole!" Nya snapped to get the zoning boy's attention.

"Huh?" He so eloquently responded.

Kai shrugged with an apologetic look at his sister. "He's been acting like a zombie all morning Nya."

"Maybe he's nervous." Jay mumbled around a mouth full of food.

Lloyd snickered. "Yeah, his girlfriend might have let herself go since he's been gone. How long have you been away from home anyway?"

Cole frowned. "I left when I was thirteen so almost four years I guess." He batted the math around in his head. "Maybe five." It had been so long...

"Cole, man, she might have moved on." Jay said haltingly.

The black ninja shrugged. "I guess we'll find out soon." He should have thought of that. He and McKay had not written each other since Zane arrived at the monastery. Keeping a long distance relationship that long was just crazy.

Nya smiled at him consolingly. "I still think bringing her flowers would be a great idea." She urged. All Cole could think was that it did not look like she stayed up late with Jay last night.

-

The morning was subdued for the ninja. Zane mused while examining his reflection. He fancied this was what being sick would feel like. For once, he was tired immediately after waking and most of his body hurt just to move it. He dimly knew the pain was just sensors telling him that he needed to perform some serious maintenance but he was still sore.

The white ninja smiled. These feelings had been occurring more and more since he discovered he was not like the others. It was almost like now that he knew he was different, it was easier to see all the similarities he shared with his brothers.

His family was so admirable. Zane liked to pretend their feelings were so strong, they were contagious. The raw determination each of his brothers had made Zane want to try that much harder. Their incredible sense of justice had the white ninja loathing any mistake he might make. Their love... The blond's smile wavered into something a bit more solemn as the nindroid tried to imagine what his brother might have felt last night. Zane wondered if Jay felt at all like how he did with his arms wrapped around his wounded brother for so long.

The android loosely gripped his own biceps, careful not to disturb the breaks in his arms. He could feel the ghost grip of the blue ninja's arms around him. Zane had not really wanted the embrace to ever end. It was irrational but the touch had been pleasant even as Jay wept on his shoulder. He liked to think that was how Nya felt in her boyfriend's arms. It hurt, somehow more than the damage his body had taken in the fall.

"Zane?" Lloyd ventured, his green eyes catching crystalline blue in the mirror. The younger man looked concerned. Zane smiled at the teen's reflection and the green ninja frowned. "Where'd you go last night?"

"I-" Jay had begged him not to tell anyone. The fear in his brother's eyes had made the android feel like he would have agreed to anything Jay asked for just to try to calm him down. The two had come up with a lie to tell the others if they were asked about the night before. "Jay could not sleep and wanted to watch the storm so I stayed on the deck with him for a few hours to keep him company." The words tumbled out so easily as if it had really happened that way.

Lloyd looked skeptical but did not comment on the fib. "So what did you and Jay do on the deck in the middle of the night?" The boy asked with a smirk.

Zane turned back to regard the shorter blond face to face with a furrowed brow. "We watched the storm?" The nindroid knew he had just told the younger boy this.

Lloyd examined Zane from head to toe with his head cocked in a way that screamed he did not believe the ice ninja then grinned. "You and Jay. Man, Cole has no idea what he's missing out on. I mean if I weren't- I'd-" Lloyd licked his lips and turned his back on the taller male. "Jay too? If that doesn't get you thinking, nothing will." The younger teen lamented quietly to himself as he moved away from the white ninja.

The nindroid arched a brow at the green ninja as he left and straightened when the black ninja entered their room. Cole was wearing a graphic T shirt with a pair of jeans that fit him well, allowing plenty of movement, and comfortable walking shoes. Cole was not smiling. He seemed preoccupied.

"Is everything alright my friend?" Zane ventured tentatively. Dark eyes focused intently on the nindroid and the white ninja could feel the familiar pressure of his own hands on his biceps. Perhaps he was malfunctioning. His limbs did not ordinarily move of their own accord.

The dark featured ninja's lips quirked into not quite a smile and he shrugged. "We can't stay long. Lord Garmadon has been quiet for little over a week but we still have to train Lloyd for the upcoming battle. And who knows when or where Garmadon might strike next."

Zane could see himself in Cole's face. It was the first feeling he felt as a nindroid. It was what Zane could only call regret. Zane had wished he had been there for the last moments of his father's life but Cole actually had a choice to make. Zane knew his brother's decision. They all did. Cole would see his role through to the end but he was forced to leave something behind in doing so. That was something Zane may never have to face.

The white ninja dropped his arms to his sides and spoke quietly. "You wish to stay?" The thought was preposterous. Cole had never flagged in his training, not even when he was confronted with his disapproving father. Having second thoughts was something not in his nature.

The black haired boy shrugged again. "I always knew it would be hard coming back but seeing McKaila- it reminds me what we're fighting for and it reminds me..." The dark eyes fell away as Cole was lost in thought.

"It reminds you of what?" Zane urged. He could hear a strange whirring in his head but he was infinitely more interested in his friend.

Cole met his gaze again. "She reminds me of what we have to give up."

All the noise stopped, leaving Zane feeling frozen. 'We' he had said. Zane knew who he meant. Cole meant that he and Jay had to leave their lives behind to become ninja. Even Kai, Nya, Lloyd, and Sensei Wu had friends they had to leave behind in pursuing this path. Zane had not made any sacrifices. The choice was made for him. He had no idea how to console his friend but he knew he must say something.

"You never came back because you knew it would be more difficult to leave again if you had." Memories replayed in the nindroid's mind of trips Jay had taken alone to return home while he and Cole had stayed at the monastery training. Zane had never thought it was strange when Cole refused every trip home Sensei Wu had offered. Cole rarely ever wrote home either. The strong ninja had been worried his desires would overwhelm his sense of responsibility, Zane realized.

Cole gave his tall brother another almost smile that did not come close to reaching his eyes. "Don't tell the others. You have nothing to worry about. I'll do my part. You ready to go, Snowball?" Cole's countenance was arranged as though it was any other day aboard the Bounty. He was all business, no... Regrets.

Zane followed his leader to meet with the others up on deck. Sensei Wu had gone back to his room after breakfast, leaving the younger warriors alone to do their business. Cole looked excited as he chattered with Jay on the still damp deck. Kai, Lloyd, and Nya were engaged in their own conversation and Zane was suddenly overcome with disinterest.

Just knowing of his brother's trepidation made Zane want to stay on the ship. He did not want to see what Cole had left behind. Most of all, he did not want to see the woman who had caused his friend so much pain even if it was unintentional. Cole was all easygoing jokes and levelheadedness. The only reason Zane did not speak up was that he wanted to be there with his friend through it. It was his duty to make sure his teammate made it back safely.

Cole laughed briefly at a joke from Jay. The boy's dark features were crinkled with mirth. His head angled back for a moment exposing his neck before Cole quickly cocked his head back downward to hide the lingering chuckles behind his hand. It was an intriguing sight with Jay's grinning face drawn close to the shorter teenager's. Zane felt like he should not be watching this moment. To him, there was just as much emotion there as there was between Jay and Nya or Kai and Lloyd. The two were clearly enjoying each other's company but that was not how things worked.

Zane turned his head away with a stirring in his already aching stomach and watched how Lloyd and Nya were oblivious to how the fire ninja's gaze explored his lover's body. Kai's mouth tightened in his scrutiny with his brown eyes still lingering low on the younger boy's body and the red ninja actually flushed a bit. That was certainly odd. Kai's face rarely colored when he was not exerting himself.

"What do you think Zane?" Icy blue eyes wrenched off of the red ninja's flustered face to focus on the hazel eyed boy who had addressed him.

"What do I think of what Jay?" The nindroid politely asked.

Cole chuckled. "I told you he was in la la land."

Zane frowned. "No, I am on the Bounty." He pointed out getting an exasperated groan from the blue ninja and another round of laughter from the black one.

Jay put a grounding hand on Zane's shoulder before speaking deliberately to the blond. "Cole said he'd show us around town a bit before we show up at his girlfriend's house. He says she can't meet up this morning but she'll be home just after lunch."

Cole nudged the blue ninja playfully and chimed in. "Yeah. I thought in the mean time we could bring the kid to the arcade and maybe grab some pizza. Plus, if Nya doesn't want to go then she and Jay can have some 'alone time'." The dark eyed boy stressed the last two words as though they had some important meaning.

Jay smiled brightly at his girlfriend and caught the attention of the other group. "Hey Nya, the guys want to go to the arcade until Cole's friend gets back home, you want to go?"

The girl smiled brightly. "Sure. Sounds like fun."

"Hey wait a minute! You guys want to go to the arcade now? It thought you said that was kid stuff." Lloyd huffed crossing his arms.

"Whoa whoa! Don't go ragging on my childhood now." Cole chided, waving his hands around disarmingly. "I used to play at the arcade all the time. Plus, what else do we really have to do?" Cole smirked knowing the younger boy would probably really enjoy a visit to the children's entertainment center.

Lloyd pursed his lips, clearly seeing through the ruse but a quick glance at Kai had the green ninja smiling again. "I guess I could play a few games." He announced with fake exasperation tinging his voice.

Nya threw an arm around the young blond declaring, "Sounds like a plan then. Cole, lead the way!" She smiled, waving a finger around enthusiastically. With how enthused his friends were acting, Zane could almost forget his own hesitance about where they were inevitably going. Almost.


End file.
